New Year Gift: Rourkela Airport Gets Permission To Operate ATRs

ROURKELA: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave Rourkela Airport a public-use licence on Tuesday, ahead of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023.

According to authorities, the Steel Authority of India has been granted permission to operate ATR-72 aircraft at the airport, which has been upgraded from the 2B category to the 2C category.

"The licence authorises the aerodrome to be used as a regular place of landing and departure to all persons on equal terms and conditions for operation by aircraft requiring specifications of runaway and associated facilities, including granted exemptions equal to or less than those indicated in the aerodrome manual, subject to the conditions set forth in Schedule-I and for the period set forth in Schedule-II hereto," the DGCA stated in the licence document.

"The licence may be suspended/modified/withdrawn, and/or any limitations or conditions may be imposed, if any violation of the provisions of the Aircraft Act 1934, Aircraft Rules 1937, or any orders/directions/requirements issued under the said Act, rules, or of the limitations or conditions as set out in Schedule-I is observed," it added.

The process for operating ATR-72 aircraft from Rourkela airport is expected to be finished by December of this year, according to officials. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia notified Sundargarh MP and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence Jual Oram of this in a letter.

Oram had written on December 12 to inquire about the condition of Rourkela airport under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN). Scindia stated that the airport is nearly finished being upgraded. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is inspecting it for ATR-72 aircraft operations under Aerodrome Code 2C. The procedure is expected to be completed by the end of December.

The Minister further stated that Alliance Air, the selected airline operator (SAO), will begin flight operations on the Bhubaneswar-Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route. Another SAO Big Charters was recently granted the Kolkata-Rourkela-Kolkata route through a special round of bidding under UDAN 4.0. The operation of 19-seater aircraft on this route is expected to begin in February of next year.

The FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela will be held from January 13 to 29 at Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium and Rourkela's Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium.