Jharsuguda: In a new development, there will be flight services to Kolkata by three airline operators along with a new route to Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru from Veer Surendra Sai airport in Odisha's Jharsuguda district. As per the winter schedule of flights announced recently on Tuesday, flight services from the airport will now include Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru by Spice Jet and Indigo airlines, respectively. Alliance Air, which had recently informed the Odisha government about its decision to stop operating direct flights to Bhubaneswar and Kolkata on grounds of low passenger count, will extend its services to the State Capital for 10 more days. It will, however, continue its flight operations to Kolkata as of now.

Official sources said while the winter schedule of Alliance Air does not include the route to Bhubaneswar, flight operations will continue till November 10 in compliance with local demand and appeal of the district administration. Given the demand of commuters, the district administration is in talks with the airline industry to ensure that the flight connectivity to Bhubaneswar does not stop, they said.

For Spice Jet, the route to Hyderabad will close and a new route to Visakhapatnam will commence, dates for which have not been decided yet. Once the new route opens, the airline will operate flights to three destinations - Delhi, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, Indigo will start flight operations from November 5 and will include Kolkata and Bengaluru in its routes from the airport.