Agartala-Chittagong flights to commence soon: Tripura minister

The process of introduction of international flight services between Agartala and Chittagong in Bangladesh is in an advanced stage, a senior minister informed the assembly on Thursday. Replying to a question by CPI(M) MLA Jitendra Chaudhury, Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury told the House the international flight service from Agartalas Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport to Chittagong could kick-start at any point of time. It was supposed to be launched by June, Chowdhury said. Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has got the contract for launching the Agartala-Chittagong flight services under UDAN scheme. On the resumption of flights from the now defunct Kailashahar Airport in Unakoti district, he said the BJP government has initiated a move to resume air service from the airport for the benefit of the people. “If we want to resume flight service from an existing airport, we need to have an additional 75 acres. The Unakoti District Magistrate (DM) has been asked to prepare a project report for the Kailashahar airport”, he said. The state also has a DPR prepared by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for opening a new greenfield airport at Kailashahar in Hiracherra tea estate, about 140 km from here. Both the proposals are being deliberated upon for resuming air connectivity from Kailashahar, the headquarters of Unakoti district. The old airport located near the Indo-Bangla border has been shut down since the early 90s on account of a lack of passengers.

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