 "Indigo announces flight services to Dubai from Bhubaneswar from May 15")
No-frills carrier IndiGo on Saturday announced starting flight services to Dubai from Bhubaneswar's Biju Patnaik International Airport on May 15 and unveiled plans to connect Odisha's capital city with Singapore and Bangkok going forward.
The airline, in a statement, said it has opened bookings for the Bhubaneswar-Dubai flight services, which will be operated three times a week.
IndiGo said it is "working in close collaboration" with the Odisha government to commence international operations from Bhubaneswar which will strengthen air connectivity from the state capital.
The maiden international flight from Bhubaneswar will take off from Biju Patnaik International Airport on May 15, IndiGo said in the statement.
International flight operations will also commence from Bhubaneswar to two more destinations - Singapore and Bangkok for which slots and other operational requirements are being finalised, it stated.
According to the airline, direct connectivity to aviation hubs like Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok will help channelise the huge potential for economic growth through enhanced accessibility.
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IndiGo said it recently won the bid to operate direct flights to these three gateways.
"Connectivity is key to development, and it has been a focus area of our government. Direct connectivity with Dubai which is one of the biggest aviation hubs will open up a direct gateway to the world," Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was quoted as saying in the statement.
Not only it will provide seamless connectivity but also it will have a huge multiplier effect on investment in Odisha in sectors like IT, manufacturing and tourism, Patnaik added.
Also known as "The Temple City of India", Bhubaneswar attracts pilgrims from all over the world. Besides, a tourist hotspot Bhubaneswar is also a major industrial city of the state, with a number of iron and steel manufacturing plants, IndiGo said in the statement.
"The new direct flights between Bhubaneswar-Dubai will reduce the need for travellers to connect to international destinations through metro cities only.
"This will not only enable faster connectivity, enhanced accessibility but also encourage trade and tourism in the state, said Vinay Malhotra, Head Global Sales at IndiGo.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)