Exactly after two months it started its operation, the Air Odisha has decided to ground its aircrafts from tomorrow citing the reason that the State Government is not paying the subsidy and rebate on aviation turbine fuel and exemption on value added tax.
Yesterday, the airline stopped it services to Sambalpur and Rourkela while it would stop flights to Jeypore and will ground its crafts totally tomorrow. The Air Odisha Operations department said services will be withdrawn as the company is not getting the operational subsidy promised by the State government.
The nine-seater planes had started their flights from the Biju Patnaik international airport in Bhubaneswar to four cities, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Jeypore, on January 19. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had flagged off the service.
According to sources, the airline was getting subsidy from the State Government on the basis of nautical miles it flies in a month. The price was fixed at 222 rupees per nautical miles with a cap on total subsidy of 8 crore rupees annually.
