Utkela Airport (IATA: UKE, ICAO: VEUK) is a domestic airport owned by the Government of Odisha located at Utkela in Kalahandi district, Odisha, India.[1] It is situated 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Bhawanipatna. The airport has been designated to be developed as a regional airport under the government's UDAN Scheme.[2][3]
Utkela Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Odisha | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bhawanipatna | ||||||||||
| Location | Utkela, Kalahandi district, Odisha, India | ||||||||||
| Opened | August 2023 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 685 ft / 210 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 20°05′52″N 083°11′00″E / 20.09778°N 83.18333°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  UKE Location in Odisha  UKE UKE (India) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Development edit
To improve development, connectivity and tourism in Odisha, the airport has been selected to develop and make it as a regional airport and eventually as a domestic airport by the Ministry of Civil Aviation as part of the UDAN Scheme. Since decades, the airport used to handle only private and government flights, when in August 2023, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted license to the airport necessary for starting commercial flights. The airport has been selected to begin commercial flights to Bhubaneswar and Raipur within the coming months.[4] On 31 August 2023, the regional airline IndiaOne Air began flights to Bhubaneswar.[5]
Airlines and destinations edit
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| IndiaOne Air | Bhubaneswar[5] |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "AAI Unserved Airports" (PDF). aai.aero. Airports Authority of India.
- ^ "Utkela Airport". centreforaviation.com. CAPA.
- ^ "List of Airstrip in the State maintained by State Government" (PDF). ct.odisha.gov.in. Commerce and Transport Department, Government of Odisha. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Pradhan, Hemanta (7 August 2023). "Utkela airport receives DGCA license to start flight operations". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ a b Cassian, Baliarsingh (31 August 2023). "Odisha's Utkela Airport welcomes first flight from Bhubaneswar; check timings, price, other details". Odisha TV. Retrieved 31 August 2023.