Veer Surendra Sai Airport , also known as Jharsuguda Airport, is a domestic airport serving

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India through the rail network, and a rece ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

, India. The airport is located north-east from the city centre. The airport is located in Durlaga, approximately from Jharsuguda Junction Railway Station. Named after the revolutionary,

Veer Surendra Sai Veer Surendra Sai (23 January 1809 – 28 February 1884) was a native Indian as well as a regional freedom fighter from the Bengal Presidency, now Odisha. He fought against British rule in India after they dethroned the king and queen of Sambal ...

, the airport is the second commercial airport in the state of Odisha.

History

The airfield was used during World War II by the RAF and other Allied Forces to counter Indian freedom fighters led by

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

. After India gained Independence from the British, the airfield was abandoned. In July 2013, the

Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, appoin ...

sanctioned ₹50 crores to kick-start the 175-crore airport development project which was to be jointly executed by the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

(AAI) and the state government. On 30 July 2014, Odisha government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the

for the mentioned. In August 2018, the airport received a 4C category licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), making Jharsuguda the second commercial airport in Odisha after

Biju Patnaik International Airport Biju Patnaik International Airport is an international airport serving Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. It is situated around south-west from Bhubaneswar Railway Station and from the city center. Named after the former chief minist ...

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

. The airport is eligible to land A-320 type Airbus aircraft. On 22 September 2018, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

inaugurated the airport, in the presence of Odisha Governor

Ganeshi Lal Ganeshi Lal (born 1 March 1941) is an Indian politician and the incumbent Governor of Odisha. Personal life Professor Ganeshi Lal was born in Sirsa, Haryana on 1 March 1941. With a brilliant educational career, he holds a degree in English H ...

, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan Dharmendra Pradhan (; born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India. He has also been the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas ...

, former Union Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and former Bargarh Lok Sabha Member Prabhas Singh.

Facilities

Terminal

Inaugurated in September 2018, the passenger terminal is built over an area of with modular design for handling 150 arriving and 150 departing passengers at a time with a scope for future expansion. On 1 November 2018, the airport was renamed after freedom fighter

by the cabinet. The interiors of the terminal building depict local handcraft, artwork and tourist destinations of

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

{{Airports in India Airports in Odisha Jharsuguda district Airports established in 2018 2018 establishments in Odisha