To address the rising airfares and enhance regional air connectivity, Tripura’s Minister for Transport, Sushanta Chowdhury, has written to Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. Chowdhury’s letters, sent on Friday, propose an upper cap on airfare for the Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Guwahati routes, as well as the operational revival of the Kailashahar airport using smaller aircraft.
Chowdhury highlighted the steep rise in airfare on the Agartala-Kolkata route, where prices have surged between ₹10,000 and ₹12,000 for a mere 327 km of aerial distance. With the upcoming festival season, he expressed concern that the prices could rise further, putting an additional financial burden on the people of Tripura, especially the common citizens who rely on these routes for essential travel.
The issue of rising airfare was also recently discussed in the Tripura Legislative Assembly, where it was termed irrational and unfair to the state’s people. Chowdhury pointed out that despite Tripura’s efforts to support the aviation sector by reducing VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) from 16% to 1% in November 2021, the benefits have not been passed on to the passengers. Instead, airlines have expanded services on more profitable routes like Kolkata-Chennai, Kolkata-Bangalore, and Kolkata-Hyderabad, neglecting the Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Guwahati routes.
“Passengers are unable to avail themselves of reasonable airfares or upgraded service quality, despite the tax cuts. This is leading to dissatisfaction among the people of Tripura,” Chowdhury stated in his letter. He urged the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to implement an upper cap on airfares for these routes to make air travel more affordable for the people of Tripura and the Northeast region.
In a second letter, Chowdhury requested the Ministry to facilitate the operation of 17 to 19-seater aircraft from Kailashahar Airport, which has remained underutilized despite potential for regional connectivity. He proposed that M/s Alliance Air and M/s FlyBig airlines, under the UDAN scheme, could start flight services from the airport.
Chowdhury’s letter referred to the bidding under UDAN 4.2, where the Kailashahar-Kolkata and Kailashahar-Agartala routes were awarded to these airlines. However, he noted that additional land is yet to be provided by the state government for the full development of the airport.
Referring to a decision taken during a meeting on September 9, 2018, under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Chowdhury mentioned that the operation of 72-seater aircraft would not be feasible at Kailashahar airport due to its runway limitations. However, a 20-seater aircraft was found suitable for operations at the airport. Consequently, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already undertaken renovation work, including repairing the old terminal building, boundary walls, and other related infrastructure.
However, Chowdhury noted that 99 acres of land are still required to extend the runway. The increasing land value has complicated the acquisition process, and Chowdhury has called for reassessment of financial commitments to complete the land acquisition process.
Chowdhury emphasized the importance of operationalizing Kailashahar airport to enhance regional connectivity in the state. He requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to grant Letters of Agreement (LoA) to M/s Alliance Air and M/s FlyBig airlines to commence flight operations, providing the much-needed air link to Kolkata and Agartala.
