Six private airliners have expressed interest to operate flight service in Chhattisgarh to connect the major industrial towns and other big centres with the state capital by air.
“The state government had received Expression of Interest (EOI) from six aviation companies for operating scheduled air services within the state,” Secretary with the department of civil aviation R S Vishwakarma said. The companies include Jagson Airlines (New Delhi), JMD Consultants Private Limited (New Delhi), Swajas Air Charters (Chennai), Universal Empire Airway Services (New Delhi), Chhattisgarh Aviation Academy (Bhilai) and a Malaysian aviation company. “The department would examine the proposals submitted by the companies and take appropriate decision at the earliest,” Vishwakarma said. The state government plans to start the service from November 1—the foundation day of the state.
The civil aviation department had issued an advertisement on September 14, inviting the Expression of Interest from airline operators, firms and companies for air services within the state. The daily flight schedule will operate to connect Raipur with the Korba and Raigarh besides major centres including Bilaspur, Jashpur, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur in Sarguja district.
The state government has assured the operators that the service would be viable as many industrialists and businessmen travel to Korba (about 220 km) and Raigarh (about 250 km) from Raipur daily. While Korba houses several power plants besides Vedanta-controlled Bharat Aluminium Company Limited, Raigarh is developing as an industrial centre. The government would underwrite seats per flights if schedule routes were unviable and would permit officials to travel by air within the state.
Sources said that two companies had expressed keen interest and wished to connect the Mumbai and Delhi flights with the service to be operated within the state. Both the companies own 19-seater Dornier aircraft. The state government plans to extend the service to Ranchi, Visakhapatnam and Nagpur so that the passengers could get additional facility and the air-liners could recover the operational cost.