Tripura's Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport to get International Airport status

Guwahati, Sept. 06: Tripura’s Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala will soon receive international status as the Central Government is making plans to begin operations at the other two non-functioning airports in Kailashahar and Kamalpur.

The decision has been taken after discussions to operationalise flights between Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Tripura’s Agartala.

However, it is unclear whether the flights to Bangladesh will be operationalised due to the ongoing political crisis that the nation is currently reeling under.

The state government had provided Rs.15 crores to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) after it was decided that the airline company SpiceJet would operate flights between Agartala and Chittagong.

Additionally, the Tripura government had already paid an amount of Rs. 3.85 crore to the AAI in December 2022 as an advance payment. Further, the state government has also been providing 25 police personnel to the Bureau of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Notably, the Civil Aviation Ministry has taken initiatives to operationalise the non-functioning Kailashahr and Kamalpur airports in northern Tripura.

Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022, the project was built at a cost of around Rs. 438 crore.

A total of 16 flights currently operate from Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, with about 4,000 passengers availing of services daily.

The new terminal, with a built-up area of approximately 30,000 square meters, has been designed to manage both domestic and international flights simultaneously during peak hours.

Currently, only the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBIA) in Guwahati and the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal, Manipur, have the status of international airports in the entire Northeast region.

Earlier this week, the AAI shared on a microblogging website that the Air India Express had introduced daily flights in the Agartala-Guwahati-Delhi-Kolkata route.

These new flights will provide passengers an enhanced opportunity for quicker connections and more convenient access to key destinations.