Bhubaneswar: Following the request from Odia Society UAE, Dubai, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged his Cabinet colleague Jyotiraditya Scindia for introduction of a direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Dubai.
More than 10,000 Odia people live in the UAE and there has been a long standing demand for a direct flight to Dubai-Bhubaneswar and vice-versa, Pradhan said in a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister.
“A direct Dubai-Bhubaneswar flight shall be a gateway for Odia people for international travel and make it convenient for Odias living all over the world to connect to Odisha better and shall be instrumental to promote international tourism in the State including medical tourism,” he said.
Citing an example for the need of the direct flight operation, he said, various traders, businesspersons and artists from Odisha are taking part in Dubai Expo 2021 and travel is essential for them.
Besides, the air communication between these cities will give a boost to the State economy through trade of artefacts, handlooms and farm produce etc, he added.