Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday urged the Centre to improve flight connectivity to Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Airport in Jharsuguda and operationalize Rourkela Airport in light of the upcoming FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2023.

Between January 13 and January 29, 2023, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar and the Bisra Munda Stadium in Rourkela will host the Hockey Men's World Cup.

Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, the chief secretary of Odisha, sent the following to Rajiv Bansal, the secretary of the ministry of civil aviation: "I would like to let you know that the next FIH Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 will take place in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to January 29, 2023. We sincerely appreciate everything you are doing to get the Rourkela Airport up and running as soon as possible." Mohapatra said, if the air connectivity to Jharsuguda is improved, access to the city of Rourkela will be made simpler. 

"The VSS Airport at Jharsuguda is the closest domestic airport with access to places like Kolkata, Raipur, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bhubaneswar in addition to Rourkela Airport. Further, there are excellent rail and road connections between Rourkela and Jharsuguda city. As a result, if air connectivity to Jharsuguda is improved, access to Rourkela city will be made easier" he added.

The Chief Secretary emphasised that Spice Jet's cancellation of planned flights from several metro areas has a negative impact on the State's connectivity. 

"Now it is a matter of concern that Spice Jet is cancelling scheduled flights from different Metro cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Kolkata," he added. "This has a serious impact on the connection to the State and to the extreme displeasure of the general population at large."

He also advised the secretary of civil aviation to look into the issue in order to boost connectivity or flight frequency from significant cities to Jharsuguda.

In order to meet passenger demand, he said, "it is respectfully requested that you look into the problem in order to improve the flight frequency/connectivity from important cities to Jharsuguda, especially during the month of January 2023 in view of the impending Hockey Men's World Cup 2023."

India has hosted the World Cup twice in a row and fourth overall. 

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