Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the Union ministry of civil aviation will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government very soon for the development of a second airport in the state at Jharsuguda.

"We have already submitted the draft MoU to the state government and discussed the matter with the Orissa Chief Secretary for the development of the proposed airport at Jharsuguda", said PK Singhal, executive director, AAI (eastern region). At present, the state has only one full-fledged airport in Bhubaneswar.

He, however, said the commencement and completion of the new airport depends on the availability of land from the state government. Around 90 acres of land was required for the development of the airport at the industrial town of in south Orissa.

AAI would invest about Rs 80crore in the first phase of the project while the investment in the second phase would depend on the traffic of the airport, he stated.

… Singhal, however, ruled out any other proposal to develop or upgrade airstrips in the state to a full-fledged airport apart from Jharsuguda. “We have not received any other proposal from the government for the development of airport in the state apart from Jharsuguda", he said.

There are 16 airstrips and 12 helipads in the state for landing of aircrafts and helicopters.

There is also a plan to install radars in Jharsuguda. Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

In a bid to strengthen security in the wake of Mumbai terror attack, Airport Authority of India will soon install three monopulse secondary surveillance radars (MSSR) in Orissa and West Bengal.

… The radars would be installed in Kolkata and Raniganj in West Bengal and Jharsuguda in Orissa for proper surveillance of aircraft moving in the region, Mr Singhal said.

At present only one MSSR is functioning here in Orissa’s Ganjam district since 1992.

The radar installed at Berhampur is capable of making surveillance up to 400 km in air path and functions without an airport, he said.

Hopefully now the work will get started.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Taking into consideration the growing demand for an airport at Jharsuguda, the Union government has decided to renovate the existing one …

The government has decided to opt for a public-private partnership for the work. SREI, a Calcutta-based finance company, has expressed interest and is negotiating with the government in this regard, sources said. “No final decision has been taken. A confirmation has been sought from Airport Authority of India. Their decision will be final,” said works secretary S.K. Ray.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

The Government has approached the Indian Airports Authority of India for night landing facilities at the Biju Patnaik Airport here. The IAAI authorities have assured that a Terminal Approach Radar would soon be installed which could enable night landing facilities. The night landing facilities would help the local hospitality industries occupancy rates, Mishra said. A proposal has been mooted for three more airports other than Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda for improving connectivity.

As of today, Orissa has only one airport with commercial flights. That airport is in Bhubaneswar. Following is copied from my site “Orissalinks: Airports and air connectivity in Orissa.”

Bhubaneswar:

• Indian (schedule: daily flights to/from Kolkata [direct], Mumbai [Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai], Delhi [direct], Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi, Bangalore [via-Chennai], and Chennai [direct], plus twice a week direct flight to-from Bangalore)
• Air Sahara (network, schedule: direct daily flights to/from Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi) - the Kolkata flight is no longer there in the current schedule,
• Air Deccan (schedule: two daily direct flights between BBSR and Kolkata and daily flights between BBSR and Delhi, BBSR and Mumbai, BBSR and Visakhapatnam, BBSR and Hyderabad, BBSR and Chennai and BBSR and Bangalore (via Chennai). A flight between Ranchi and BBSR is also in the offing.)
• Kingfisher (schedule: daily flights to Hyderabad and Delhi [via Hyderabad])
• Wonder air chopper service (chopper flights from Bhubaneswar to Keonjhar and on to Barbil from Feb 9th 2007)
• Spicejet (coming soon)
• Indigo (coming soon)
• Cities connected directly (non-stop or reachable with one-stop but without changing planes)
  
  • Delhi [3+2] (Indian: daily, Indian/Alliance Air: daily, Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi, Air Sahara: daily, Kingfisher: daily via Hyderabad, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Kolkata [3] (Indian: daily, Air Sahara: no more, Air Deccan: twice daily)
  • Hyderabad [3] (Air Sahara: daily, Kingfisher: daily, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Mumbai [1+1] (Indian: daily, Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai; Air Deccan: daily)
  • Chennai [2] (Indian: daily, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Bangalore [.3+2] (Indian: daily via Chennai, Indian: 2/week direct, Air Deccan: daily via Chennai)
  • Visakhapatnam [1] (Air Deccan: daily)
  • Ranchi [1,0] (Air Deccan : in cards, details awaited, Indian/Alliance Air: Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi)
    
  • Raipur [1,0] (Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai)
  • Keonjhar, Orissa (wonder air, chopper service from Feb 9th 2007)
  • Barbil, Orissa (wonder air, chopper service from Feb 9th 2007)

• More connectivity (planned connections):
  • Jet Airways (network): indications
  • Air India: AirIndia flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok or Malaysia in Winter 2006?
  • GoAir (schedule): has plans for Bhubaneswar
  • Airlines with no existing plans for BBSR: Paramount.
• New Indian budget airlines expected to launch during 2007: AirOne Feeder Airline (based in Bangalore); Magic Air; Indus Air; Easy Air; and Star Air. (more information)
• Connectivity wishlist (Oct 26, 2006)
  • BBSR-Rourkela
  • More BBSR-Bangalore (on the way to Goa)
  • BBSR-Pune (on the way to Mumbai)
  • BBSR-Jaipur (on the way to Delhi)
  • BBSR-Goa (with stop over in Bangalore)
  • BBSR-Varanasi (on the way to Srinagar/Delhi/Chandigarh)
  • BBSR-Kochi (with stop over in Chennai)
  • BBSR-Guwahati (with stop over in Kolkata)
  • BBSR-Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Seoul (Delhi/Mumbai-BBSR-Bangkok/KL/Seoul)
  • BBSR-London (Kolkata-BBSR-London)
• Airport plans: [Oct22-05-priority-BBSR-Shillong-Dimapur-Nagpur]
• Editor’s comment, Sept 20′05: The private colleges in Orissa should get together with Infosys, Satyam etc. to establish free public wi-fi in Bhubaneswar airport and Bhubaneswar railway station. At this point, it might be a first for the country. It will distinguish Bhubaneswar, generate a lot of publicity, with software companies and airline companies taking notice of it.
• Cities connected (direct or with a stopover), timings

• Rourkela: There is an airport to which Indian Airlines used to fly. Service to it needs to be reintroduced as soon as possible.
• Plans to develop Jharsuguda airstrip to a full-fledged airport: [1]
• Sites for flight news with respect to India: Aviation India; Indian A&D
• A site for flight tickets: http://cleartrip.com