Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday flagged off a direct flight service between state capital Bhubaneswar and Jeypore in Koraput district.
Patnaik flagged off the flight from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar.
Ahmedabad-based IndiaOne Air will operate the nine-seater flight under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme.
The flight will depart from Bhubaneswar airport at 11.35 am daily and reach Jeypore at 1.20 pm. On the return journey, it will take off from Jeypore airport at 4.05 pm and arrive in Bhubaneswar at 5.50 pm, officials said.
The introductory fare is Rs 999, they said.
The airstrip in Jeypore was constructed in 1962 along with the establishment of a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) factory in nearby Sunabeda area.
In the 1980s, Vayudoot operated a daily Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam flight via Jeypore. It was upgraded to an airport under the UDAN scheme in 2017.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the licence for the Jeypore airport, allowing commercial flight operations, on October 20.
