Airport upgrade to boost tourism: Goutam Deb

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government is optimistic that tourism in North Bengal will get a big boost with the commencement of night landing facilities at Bagdogra airport. “We have already handed over 24 acres of land to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) free of cost for upgradation of night landing facilities. The AAI had started work in full swing and the infrastructure will be ready within two to three months. This year there has been a growth of 29.3 percent in passengers landing at Bagdogra,” state tourism minister Goutam Deb said.

It is learnt that as many as 29 flights will land and 25 will depart from the sirport on a daily basis this summer. In 2016 as many as 16 flights on an average have landed and left the airport on a daily basis. “After the Bengaluru airport it is the Bagdogra airport in the country that has registered such a high growth. This is because this airport is a gateway to North Bengal as well as the North eastern states and also Nepal and Bhutan,” Mr Deb added. In 2015, as many as 7,07,945 passengers had landed at Bagdogra compared to 9,15,626 last year.

The minister assured of all assistance from the government so that passengers landing at Bagdogra airport have a hassle-free commuting facility from there.