PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, January 12: Scheduled air services connecting Jamshedpur with Kolkata and Bhubaneswar have been suspended indefinitely following a technical emergency involving an IndiaOne Air aircraft in Odisha.
The Ahmedabad-based regional airline cited the sudden unavailability of aircraft after the January 10 incident as the reason for halting operations from Sonari Airport.
Emergency Landing in Odisha
The affected flight, operating under the Government of India’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme, was en route from Bhubaneswar to Rourkela when a mid-air technical malfunction forced the crew to issue a MAYDAY call.
The nine-seater Cessna Grand Caravan made an emergency landing in an open field near Kansor village, around 15 to 20 kilometres short of Rourkela airport. All safety procedures were followed, and no casualties were reported.
However, the aircraft has since been grounded for detailed inspection, severely impacting the airline’s already limited fleet.
Jamshedpur’s Air Connectivity Hit
The suspension has delivered a major setback to Jamshedpur’s fragile air connectivity. The flights, launched in February 2023 under the UDAN scheme, were among the few direct air links connecting the city to key regional hubs.
With services now suspended, passengers are once again forced to depend on distant airports such as Ranchi, Kolkata, or Bhubaneswar for onward travel.
Small Fleet, Big Impact
Aviation experts point out that regional carriers like IndiaOne Air operate with very small fleets, making them particularly vulnerable to disruptions.
With only a handful of aircraft in service, the grounding of even a single plane due to a technical issue can trigger widespread route suspensions and cancellations across the network.
