Bhubaneswar: With the festival season and winter on the horizon, the schedule of flights for Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here is likely to increase. IndiGo has applied to operate 33 daily flights, an increase from the current 27, authorities said.
The airline will not only increase aircraft but also frequency of flights to some destinations, airport sources said.“Winter months up to Jan are the best time for travellers and bookings will start very soon. Airlines will soon submit their winter schedules for approval. Winter brings a boost in tourism with the rush of both incoming and outgoing passengers. As many as 22 domestic destinations are connected to Bhubaneswar by air,” said airport director Prasanna Pradhan.
IndiGo started a direct flight from the city to Bagdogra — gateway to Darjeeling — from Aug 30. It operates the flight en route Durgapur.
At present, flights are available from the city to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Patna, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Jaipur, Pune, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Jharsuguda, Utkela, Jeypore, Rourkela and Durgapur.
Sources said Air India Express is likely to add four more flights, Vistara will add two and Akasa Air one more flight. “The airport is likely to handle between 15,000 and 20,000 passengers in the peak of winter,” an officer said.
In 2023-24, the airport recorded 4.6 million passengers, while it was 3.6 million in 2022-23. The winter rush is likely to push the count to 5 million in the current financial year (2024-25), officials said.

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