Direct flight to Dubai from May 15

Bhubaneswar: The state capital will be directly connected to Dubai by air from May 15 as Indigo’s Airbus-320 will operate from here thrice a week. On Saturday, the sale of tickets started. Launching the ticket sales service at Naveen Niwas, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Connectivity is key to development and it has been a focus area of our government”. “Direct connectivity to Dubai will open up a direct gateway to the world. Not only it will provide seamless connectivity but also will have a huge multiplier effect on investment in the state IT, manufacturing and tourism sectors,” Naveen said. Inaugural ticket prices have been pegged at Rs 10,000 (one way) Rs 20,000 for round trip. Officials said flights from here to Singapore and Bangkok will start within two weeks of Dubai flight.