Bhubaneswar: Govt is planning to rope in a smaller carrier to operate flights to Tirupati, Surat, Bhopal and Shiridi from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA). The move comes even as air connectivity to 11 destinations, two of them international, was suspended.Govt sources said 70-seater aircraft is being considered as a viable option to operate to the four new destinations. “The four destinations are being considered to be connected, and there has been discussion with the regional airline. An agreement may be signed soon with the airline with certain conditions. It is yet to be decided if the services will be daily or not,” said a senior govt official in charge of civil aviation. Sources said Star Air could be roped in to operate the flights.Officials said the Bhopal link will open a gateway to central India even though there is a direct daily flight to Raipur. Two other destinations — Shiridi and Tirupati — are religious places, which can be linked by air with use of small aircraft. Many people visit Tirupati via Hyderabad, which is connected by a direct flight.Bangkok remains the city’s only international link, with Dubai and Singapore operations suspended. The nine domestic destinations where connectivity has been stopped are Indore, Dehradun, Jaipur, Lucknow, Goa, MOPA, Port Blair, Cochin and Hindon. Earlier, 30 destinations were connected to the city.With flights to 11 destinations suspended, there could be a drop of 1,200-1,500 passengers daily at the airport. “The introduction of four new destinations may add to the footfall. Yet, overall there could be a shortfall of 700-800 passengers,” said an airport officer.Annual passenger footfall at BPIA had crossed 50 lakh-mark in Nov, with more than 4 lakh in monthly footfall.
