Agartala: On Sunday, Air India Express began regular flights between Agartala, Guwahati, Delhi, and Kolkata, making travel easier for Tripura residents and those in neighbouring states.
According to an Airport Authority of India (AAI) official, after a brief ceremony, the inaugural Air India Express flight took off from Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport.
MBB Airport Director K.C. Meena stated that competitive pricing would allow travellers to choose economical prices to travel to the national capital, Guwahati, and Kolkata.
The service will benefit persons from Tripura and other northeastern states who frequently visit West Bengal for medical treatment, tourism, education, business, and other reasons.
Air India Express has become the fourth airline to start its aircraft service from the MBB airport. The other three are Air India, Indigo, and Akasa.
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The Tripura government has been pressing for the MBB Airport in Agartala to be designated as an international airport.
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, former Tripura Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb recently urged the Civil Aviation Minister (Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu) to declare the MBB Airport as an international airport.
Deb said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new integrated terminal building of MBB Airport, which was built for Rs 500 crore on January 4, 2022.
“The Tripura government has provided Rs 18.85 crore to the AAI to start aircraft operation in the Agartala-Chittagong (Bangladesh) route. The airport can handle 1,000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours,” he had informed the House.
AAI sources said that the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati and the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal currently enjoy international status in the northeastern region.
AAI officials said that 16 flights regularly operate from the MBB Airport, carrying over 4,000 passengers daily.
Little over 20 km north of the state capital, the airport, earlier known as Singerbill Airport, was renamed after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur by the Union government in July 2018.
With a built-up area of 30,000 sq mt, the new terminal building has been designed to handle both domestic and international passengers simultaneously during peak hours.
The airport was built in 1942 after the land was donated by then-Tripura king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. It was used as a technical base for the Royal Air Force during World War II.
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–IANS
