CM inaugurates BBSR- Abu Dhabi direct flight services
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi inaugurated direct flight services to Abu Dhabi from Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Thursday. An IndiGo flight with 180 passengers on board started its journey to the capital of the United Arab Emirates from Bhubaneswar, Majhi said.
Besides, 50 tonnes of mangoes produced in Odisha have also been sent to Abu Dhabi, he said. The inauguration took place on a day when the BJP government in the State was celebrating its first anniversary.
The flight services were launched under Odisha's Building Management of Aviation Assets and Network (B-MAAN) initiative. The airline will operate flights on Abu Dhabi-Bhubaneswar route on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week, an official said.
Speaking to mediapersons at the airport, Majhi said, 'Todayis a proud day for the State as the aspiration of the people of Odisha to have direct flight services to Abu Dhabi has been fulfilled.' Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and support from the Central government, the flight services to the capital of the United Arab Emirates have been launched as part of the State's new destination policy, he said. The Chief Minister said the flight services will create an opportunity for Odisha to directly connect with West Asian countries.
It will help boost tourism, trade, investment and cultural exchange, he said. The flight services to Visakhapatnam were also restarted from Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
'Apart from infrastructure development, our government is taking steps for industrialisation and strengthening road, air and rail connectivity to enhance the State's GDP,' the Chief Minister said.
To strengthen air connectivity, the BJP government has launched flight services to Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Goa, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow and Port Blair from Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai and Raipur from Jharsuguda, he pointed out. With the launch of flight services to major domestic and international destinations, Bhubaneswar is going to be a hub for the aviation sector in the coming days, Majhi added.
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