Parliament Question: Development of Rourkela airport

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 985 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 9th February 2026 DEVELOPMENT OF ROURKELA AIRPORT 985. SHRI MUZIBULLA KHAN Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) whether Government has approved expansion of Rourkela airport; (b) the steps taken to operationalise commercial flights from the airport; (c) funds released for its development; (d) expected increase in passenger handling capacity; and (e) whether the airport is planned to be integrated with industrial growth of Western Odisha? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (e): Rourkela Airport, owned by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), was developed at a cost of Rs. 58.96 crore and became operational under the UDAN scheme on 07.01.2023, for operating regional connectivity flights. As per the request of the Government of Odisha, AAI also conducted a pre-feasibility study for upgrading the airport to 4C CAT-I IFR operations, and the report was submitted in May 2025. Under UDAN 3.0, M/s Alliance Air commenced RCS flight operations on the Rourkela- Bhubaneswar-Rourkela route on 07.01.2023. Currently, the route is operated commercially by M/s IndiaOne Air under State Viability Gap Funding (VGF). The RCS routes connecting Rourkela with Ambikapur and Rairangpur were awarded to M/s Flybig, which later novated its RCS rights and obligations to M/s Skyhop Aviation Pvt. Ltd. M/s Skyhop is presently in the process of fulfilling regulatory and operational requirements, including obtaining an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and acquiring aircraft. ******