Air Odisha Launches Maiden Flight Under Udan

Air Odisha on Saturday, 17 February, launched its maiden services under the regional connectivity scheme Udan with Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurating the first flight to Mundra from Odisha state capital, Bhubaneswar.

The carrier, mandated to fly on 50 regional routes, had received its scheduled commuter operator (SCO) permit from the aviation regulator DGCA last Tuesday.

The permit allows a carrier to operate as a scheduled commuter airline. Significantly, Air Odisha, promoted by the Radhakant Pani family of Odisha, has offloaded 60 percent stake to the Ahmedabad-based firms GSEC Aviation and Monarch Network.

 

Rupani said that Udan aims to provide air facility to the common man through regional connectivity. 

Besides Mundra, the carrier also rolled out services on the Ahmedabad-Jamnagar route and plans to launch flights to Diu from Ahmedabad



as well in the first phase of rollout, Air Deccan founder G R Gopinath said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to inaugurate the Diu flight on 25 February, he said. GSEC Aviation and Monarch Networth have made “strategic investment” in both Air Deccan and Air Odisha. “Udan aims to provide air facility to the common man through regional connectivity. Till now, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Surat were all connected to Mumbai, but with this service, these cities will be connected to Ahmedabad,” Rupani told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Air Odisha has deployed a 19-seater Beechcraft 1900D aircraft for carrying out these services. The air operator will also provide connectivity from Ahmedabad to Bhavnagar and onward to Surat in the coming days.

Speaking at the event, Gopinath said it was a “dream come true” moment for him to see the venture taking off.