Jeypore: Jeypore airstrip in Koraput district will have commercial air services within next six to eight months.
Commerce & Transport Secretary Madhusudan Padhi said this after an inspection of the airstrip and a review meeting Friday. Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati and other government officials attended the meeting.
“At first the airstrip will be included in the Udaan Scheme. It will complete by March. Then it will take six to eight months for the commencement of air service,” Padhi informed.
The airstrip built in the 1960s was used whenever ministers or VIPs visited the town. Later, in the 1980s a private airline started operating flights from Jeypore airstrip. But the service was stopped after the plane crashed.
Air Odisha had started flights from Jeypore in 2016, but its services were stopped later as both companies were using single-engine planes.
The runway width here has been expanded to 24-metres from 15 metres. Similarly, a boundary wall extending to 2.5 km was built around the airstrip.
Once the much-awaited flight services begin, it will make a huge difference in improving the tourism industry in the undivided Koraput district, locals opined.
PNN
