Agartala to get direct air connectivity with Dhaka, Chittagong

Agartala will get direct flights connecting with Dhaka and Chittagong in neighboring Bangladesh, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb announced today. Airlines are expected to start services along the Agartala-Chittagong and Agartala-Dhaka international routes in the next six months. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation will float tenders inviting expressions of interest from private airlines to operate the routes, a senior official told the Press Trust of India,

In a tweet, Deb thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for the initiative to fulfill people’s dreams. “The proposed international flight service with Bangladesh will surely boost Tripura tourism & take the state to a new height in terms of air connectivity. It will also benefit the people of Bangladesh in various ways and strengthen relation between two countries,” Deb said in a tweet.

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has included the proposed international routes under the UDAN scheme, Officer on Special Duty to the Tripura Chief Minister, Sanjoy Mishra, told the Press Trust of India, Mishra added that the ministry will float tenders to invite expressions of interest from private airlines that wish to run along these two international routes.

UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a regional airport development program of the Center and part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme to upgrade underserviced air routes.

Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport Director Rajiv Kapoor said the Chief Minister had taken up the issue with Scindia so that international flights along the two routes could commence at the earliest. While Kapoor refused to allocate a timeline for when the services could start, he said the airport was ready for it.

The new terminal building, inaugurated by PM Modi on January 4, has all facilities, such as Customs and immigration, and separate zones for arrivals and departures, and handling international passengers, Kapoor said.