The Director General Civil Aviation Monday (DGCA) has issued the license for Utkela airport in Odisha’s Kalahandi district to start flight operations. Utkela airport, 15 km from the district headquarters of Bhawanipatna, is among the airstrips that have been listed under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN. This license from Civil Aviation has paved the way for regular flights of commercial aeroplanes from Utkella to Bhubaneswar and Raipur, capitals of Odisha and its neighbour Chhattisgarh respectively.

Glad to share that #UtkelaAirport in #Kalahandi district has received DGCA license to start flight operations. Soon flight operations will commence to #Bhubaneswar. It will boost connectivity, commerce & tourism, fulfilling aspirations of people of the region. pic.twitter.com/cWpGpcxXzt
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 7, 2023

After Rourkela and Jeypore, the UDAN service will be launched soon in Utkela, an official said adding that initially GSEC Monarch has been given the license to fly nine-seated commercial planes.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik welcomed the DGCA’s decision.

“Glad to share that #UtkelaAirport in #Kalahandi district has received DGCA license to start flight operation. Soon flight operations will commence to #Bhubaneswar. It will boost connectivity, commerce & tourism, fulfilling aspiration of people of the region,” Patnaik said in a statement posted on X, earlier known as Twitter.

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Also, DGCA has, since 2021, instituted a ‘No Fly List’, resulting in the prohibition of 166 passengers from boarding flights to/from India for a designated duration, the Parliament was told on Monday. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh (retd) also told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the total number of complaints lodged by passengers were 4,786 in 2020, 5,321 in 2021, 5,525 in 2022, and 2,384 since January this year to date.

He also said that the fleet size of aircraft endorsed on the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of the scheduled operators in the country in 2014 was 395 whereas in 2023 it is 729.

As per the information received by the DGCA, the total fleet size of the major domestic airlines in the country is expected to be approximately 1,600 in the next seven years, the minister stated.