The Rourkela airport is likely to set for commercial operations of flights from 05 December 2022. This is important as the city is set to host the Men’s Hockey World Cup from January 13 to 29 2023.
Last month on 08 October, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed a fresh MoU for the operation and management of the airport for commercial use under the RCS-UDAN scheme.
RSP had already applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the upgradation of the airport’s licence from ARC 2B to ARC 2C to allow the operation of ATR-72 aircraft. Earlier the airport was granted ARC 2B licence for the operation of 19 seaters. The RCS-UDAN initiative scheme failed to take off as such smaller aircraft were not available with the selected flight operators. To ensure the operation of 72 seaters, the airport upgradation project was undertaken, that involved expansion of the runway, construction of a new apron and taxiway, new terminal building, and perimeter wall. The project was taken up by the AAI at Rs 64.24 crore investment.