Protesting the sudden withdrawal of Air India flights linking Bhubaneswar with Kolkata and Chennai, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) on Sunday said it would not only hamper tourism but also trade and industry in the State.

“We want immediate restoration of the two Air India flights connecting Bhubaneswar with Kolkata and Chennai. The decision to withdraw the flights has been taken just before the start of the tourist season,” HRAO Chairman J. K. Mohanty told reporters here.

He said withdrawal of the flights would also hit trade, commerce and industry in the State. Mohanty said a memorandum has been sent to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh seeking restoration of the urgently.

“I have also requested him to take immediate steps to restore the flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangalore, Raipur and Varanasi which had been withdrawn earlier,” he said.

Stating that a large number of conferences have been booked in various hotels between November and January, Mohanty said all these events in Odisha would be badly hit as delegates from Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata who are supposed to arrive here by Air India flights would face problems.

Dismissing pleas that withdrawal of flights was a business decision, he said this was incorrect as flights connecting Bhubaneswar are operating at full capacity as the number of corporate and business travellers to Odisha has largely increased due to big investment in various sectors.

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