Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Centre to introduce a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah city in the United Arab Emirates to benefit the Odias working in the Middle East.
In a letter to his Civil Aviation counterpart, Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas said, "...There is a strong demand from the NRI Odia community and the Odia people working in the Middle East for a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah."
"This will immensely benefit a large number of Odia workers travelling to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Riyadh and other Gulf cities," he said.
Pradhan said, at present, there is only one direct international flight from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
"It has come to my knowledge that SpiceJet has an MoU with the UAE to start a new flight to Ras-Al-Khaimah. It shall be helpful if it can be recommended to SpiceJet to consider Ras-Al-Khaimah connectivity from Bhubaneswar," he said.
Pradhan said Bhubaneswar Airport is one of the fastest-growing in the country, registering a 41 per cent growth with 32 lakh footfalls in 2017-18.
He said work for passenger convenience and airport expansion is underway which will boost air traffic to the airport in the Odisha capital.
"Keeping in mind the benefit of the people of Odisha, I request your personal intervention in the commencement of a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah at the earliest...
"...the proposed flight will further strengthen our bilateral relationship with UAE and bolster the business between the two countries," Pradhan said.
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