Air India Express started daily flights from this city, Delhi-Kolkata and this city is also linked, know details
Domestic airline Air India Express has started daily flights on the Agartala-Guwahati-Delhi-Kolkata route. This new flight of the airline will bring great convenience to the people of Tripura and surrounding states. According to IANS news, an official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that the first flight of Air India Express started its journey from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala last Sunday. Airport Director K.C. Meena said the competitive pricing will allow passengers to choose cheaper fares to travel to and from Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata.
Air India Express becomes the fourth airline company
According to the news, Air India Express has become the fourth airline to start its airline service from MBB Airport. The other three airline companies include Air India, IndiGo and Akasa Air. The Tripura government is pushing to designate the MBB airport in Agartala as an international airport. Former Tripura Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb had recently raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, urging the Civil Aviation Minister (Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu) to declare the MBB airport as an international airport.
Airport capacity
Deb had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the new integrated terminal building of MBB airport built at a cost of Rs 500 crore on January 4, 2022. According to the news, Tripura government has provided Rs 18.85 crore to AAI to start flight operations on Agartala-Chittagong (Bangladesh) route. The airport can handle 1,000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours. AAI sources said the Lok Sabha Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) airport in Guwahati and Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal currently have international status in the north-eastern region.
Currently 16 flights operate
AAI officials said that at present, 16 flights are operated regularly from MBB airport, carrying more than 4,000 passengers every day. Located about 20 kilometers north of the state capital, the airport, earlier known as Singerbil Airport, was named after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur by the central government in July 2018. With a built-up area of 30,000 square metres, 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 land was donated by the then Tripura King Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur and was used as a technical base for the Royal Air Force during World War II.
