Utkela airport inaugurated

The Utkela airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneswar was inaugurated on August 31, 2023. The airport was developed at a cost of Rs 310.7 million and consists of a runway which is 917 meters long and 30 meters wide. It was developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme. The flights on the route would be run by IndiaOne, using a 9-seater Cessna C-208 aircraft. Reportedly, the Utkela-Bhubaneswar distance could now be covered in one hour and 20 minutes with the flight, reducing the time of around eight hours taken to travel by road. Odisha would now have five airports, with the addition of this airport.