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Update on 3/19/2011: Jet adds a daily direct flight to Mumbai between 3/27/11 and 10/29/11.

Few years before, before Jet bought Sahara, the latter used to fly Bhubaneswar-Delhi, Bhubaneswar-Bangalore, Bhubaneswar-Chennai and Bhubaneswar-Kolkata routes. After Jet bought Sahara, Sahara was rechristened as Jetlite and Jetlite flew those routes but it then cancelled the first three and last year Jet Airways flights at Bhubaneswar only included two daily Jet Konnect flights between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. 

So it is good news that in March 2011, Jet will start new Jet Konnect services in the routes of Bhubaneswar-Bangalore, Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar-Delhi and Bhubaneswar-Raipur. The outgoing flight timings of these flights are:

With these additions come April the daily flight connectivity for Bhubaneswar increases to:

• Bhubaneswar-Delhi: 6 flights (Air India, Indigo -2, Jet Konnect, Kingfisher Red -2)
• Bhubaneswar-Mumbai: 3 flights (Air India, Indigo – with one stop at Hyderabad, Kingfisher Red); Jet Konnect has two good connecting flights with short connection times. (Update: 4 flights till 10/29/11; Jet introduces a Jet Konnect flight.)
• Bhubaneswar-Kolkata: 4 flights (Jet Konnect -2, Kingfisher Red-2)
• Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad: 3 flights (Jet Konnect, Indigo-2)
• Bhubaneswar-Bangalore: 3 flights (Indigo – with one stop at Hyderabad, Jet Konnect, Kingfisher Red)
• Bhubaneswar-Chennai: 1 flight (Air India), Jet Konnect has a good connecting flight with short connection times
• Bhubaneswar-Raipur: 1 flight (Jet Konnect)

The above data in a matrix form is as follows:

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The on-going developmental work at the Biju Patnaik airport in Bhubaneswar, which aims to upgrade the airport as an International airport, is likely to be completed by November, 2011.

The expansion work, being implemented by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), envisages construction of new domestic terminal building complex with all modern amenities, which includes two aerobridges at a cost of Rs 145.54 crore.

On completion of these works, the final capacity of the Bhubaneswar airport would be 970 domestic passengers and 348 international passengers during peak hours as per IMG norms, says Union minister of state for civil aviation, Praful Patel.

Funds earmarked for construction of new terminal building and extension of apron was Rs 160.45 crore. Out of this, Rs 24.59 crore has been spent by September, this year, Patel said in response to a query from Rajya Sabha MP, Renubala Pradhan.

The average number of passengers handled by the Bhubaneswar airport daily varies from 2500 to 3150. The average daily passengers handled by the airport was 2637 in April, 2506 in May, 3150 in June, 2657 in July, 2848 in August and 2517 in September this year.

Patel said, the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) operates daily flights in Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi and Mumbai-Raipur-Bhubanswar-Mumabi sectors and five flights per week in Chennai-Bhubaneswar-Chennai sector.

Similarly, the Jet Airways operates daily flights in Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector, while Kingfisher Airlines operates Mumbai-Bhubaneswar-Mumbai and Bangalore-Bhubaneswar-Bangalore and Kolkata-Bhubaneswar-Kolkata sector (twice daily) flights.

Indigo operates Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Delhi (twice daily) and Hyderabad-Bhubaneswar-Hyderabad flights.

The following is from http://203.94.240.226/iaschedule/iaschedule.xls.

As of today, Orissa has only one airport with commercial flights. That airport is in Bhubaneswar. Following is copied from my site “Orissalinks: Airports and air connectivity in Orissa.”

Bhubaneswar:

• Indian (schedule: daily flights to/from Kolkata [direct], Mumbai [Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai], Delhi [direct], Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi, Bangalore [via-Chennai], and Chennai [direct], plus twice a week direct flight to-from Bangalore)
• Air Sahara (network, schedule: direct daily flights to/from Hyderabad, Kolkata and Delhi) – the Kolkata flight is no longer there in the current schedule,
• Air Deccan (schedule: two daily direct flights between BBSR and Kolkata and daily flights between BBSR and Delhi, BBSR and Mumbai, BBSR and Visakhapatnam, BBSR and Hyderabad, BBSR and Chennai and BBSR and Bangalore (via Chennai). A flight between Ranchi and BBSR is also in the offing.)
• Kingfisher (schedule: daily flights to Hyderabad and Delhi [via Hyderabad])
• Wonder air chopper service (chopper flights from Bhubaneswar to Keonjhar and on to Barbil from Feb 9th 2007)
• Spicejet (coming soon)
• Indigo (coming soon)
• Cities connected directly (non-stop or reachable with one-stop but without changing planes)
  
  • Delhi [3+2] (Indian: daily, Indian/Alliance Air: daily, Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi, Air Sahara: daily, Kingfisher: daily via Hyderabad, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Kolkata [3] (Indian: daily, Air Sahara: no more, Air Deccan: twice daily)
  • Hyderabad [3] (Air Sahara: daily, Kingfisher: daily, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Mumbai [1+1] (Indian: daily, Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai; Air Deccan: daily)
  • Chennai [2] (Indian: daily, Air Deccan: daily)
  • Bangalore [.3+2] (Indian: daily via Chennai, Indian: 2/week direct, Air Deccan: daily via Chennai)
  • Visakhapatnam [1] (Air Deccan: daily)
  • Ranchi [1,0] (Air Deccan : in cards, details awaited, Indian/Alliance Air: Delhi-Ranchi-BBSR-Delhi)
    
  • Raipur [1,0] (Mumbai-Raipur-BBSR-Mumbai)
  • Keonjhar, Orissa (wonder air, chopper service from Feb 9th 2007)
  • Barbil, Orissa (wonder air, chopper service from Feb 9th 2007)

• More connectivity (planned connections):
  • Jet Airways (network): indications
  • Air India: AirIndia flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok or Malaysia in Winter 2006?
  • GoAir (schedule): has plans for Bhubaneswar
  • Airlines with no existing plans for BBSR: Paramount.
• New Indian budget airlines expected to launch during 2007: AirOne Feeder Airline (based in Bangalore); Magic Air; Indus Air; Easy Air; and Star Air. (more information)
• Connectivity wishlist (Oct 26, 2006)
  • BBSR-Rourkela
  • More BBSR-Bangalore (on the way to Goa)
  • BBSR-Pune (on the way to Mumbai)
  • BBSR-Jaipur (on the way to Delhi)
  • BBSR-Goa (with stop over in Bangalore)
  • BBSR-Varanasi (on the way to Srinagar/Delhi/Chandigarh)
  • BBSR-Kochi (with stop over in Chennai)
  • BBSR-Guwahati (with stop over in Kolkata)
  • BBSR-Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Seoul (Delhi/Mumbai-BBSR-Bangkok/KL/Seoul)
  • BBSR-London (Kolkata-BBSR-London)
• Airport plans: [Oct22-05-priority-BBSR-Shillong-Dimapur-Nagpur]
• Editor’s comment, Sept 20’05: The private colleges in Orissa should get together with Infosys, Satyam etc. to establish free public wi-fi in Bhubaneswar airport and Bhubaneswar railway station. At this point, it might be a first for the country. It will distinguish Bhubaneswar, generate a lot of publicity, with software companies and airline companies taking notice of it.
• Cities connected (direct or with a stopover), timings

• Rourkela: There is an airport to which Indian Airlines used to fly. Service to it needs to be reintroduced as soon as possible.
• Plans to develop Jharsuguda airstrip to a full-fledged airport: [1]
• Sites for flight news with respect to India: Aviation India; Indian A&D
• A site for flight tickets: http://cleartrip.com