Bhubaneswar: Biju Patnaik International Airport here will soon start hub-and-spoke model to facilitate international travel with one-time immigration, customs and luggage check-ins at the spoke (Bhubaneswar) and international departure at bigger airports like Delhi as hub.Initially, Air India’s one Delhi-bound flight will be used for the service. The model, according to the airport authorities, will add convenience to overseas travellers, as undergoing customs and immigration checks in less crowded airports is far more hassle-free. In the model, two boarding passes will be issued to the passengers, officials said.“Civil aviation ministry has selected five airports, which will serve as spokes, with Bhubaneswar being one of them. The criterion in the hub-and-spoke model is that if the waiting time at the hub (Delhi) for the international flight is within four hours, then it is workable. The connecting international flight should be departing the hub within four hours of the arrival of the domestic flight from the spoke,” said a senior airport official.The airport officials said to start with, Delhi has been made the hub and other big airports in metros may be included as hubs in future. Also, besides Air India, other players may also evince interest to fly in the model.The airport official said for the outgoing flight from the spoke, immigration and customs with luggage checks will be done in one go. “The luggage will be automatically shifted to the international flight without having to handle it physically by the passengers. But while making a return journey in the hub-and-spoke model, customs and immigration procedures will have to be done at the hub (Delhi), and luggage will also have to be handled physically as one shifts from international to domestic flight,” the airport official said.The two boarding passes that will be given to a passenger while travelling from spoke are meant for flying domestically (to hub) and internationally (from hub to destination), the officials clarified.At present, there is lone direct international flight operating from here to Bangkok out of the four that were operating earlier. Three destinations — Dubai, Singapore and Abu Dhabi — are now off the roster.The start of the hub-and-spoke model may see a rise in passenger footfall that has dropped after the suspension of flights to nine domestic destinations, sources said.
