Flight services at Bhubaneswar Airport to remain suspended for 8 hrs from Oct 1

Bhubaneswar: Operation at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here will be suspended between 11 PM and 7 AM everyday for around four months from October 1 on account of commencement of runway re-carpeting work.

Re-carpeting (new coating of runway) work that was earlier scheduled to be held in February this year has been delayed due to COVID-19 crisis. The re-carpeting work is undertaken every 10 years to ensure smooth operation of flight services. It was last carried out at the airport in 2007.

Meanwhile, the airport has suffered loss by over 50 % during the COVID-19 lockdown while the passenger traffic has dropped by 75 %, informed airport Director VV Rao.

“The passenger inflow of the airport was higher than the outflow during the period of May and June. The passenger movement at the airport has increased from 9721 in May to 58,953 in June and further to 65,137 in July,” said airport authorities.

Currently, around 17 flights are operating at the airport with movement of around 3,000 passengers everyday. However, international flight services continue to remain suspended at the airport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.