The Hindu Business Line : Cooch-Behar airport to resume flight operations from Jan

Kolkata, Oct. 1 The Cooch-Behar airport will resume flight operations from January as the modernisation of the airport is expected to be completed by the year-end, Mr P.K. Singhal, Regional Executive Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Kolkata Airport, told Business Line today.

Currently, no scheduled flight operates from the airport and if things go according to plan, Air Deccan will start services from next year, an AAI official said. The airport has been lying idle since mid 90’s and only a few private companies use the runway strip currently.

Modernisation of the airport involves construction of a new terminal building and a new air traffic control cum fire station building by AAI, at an investment of Rs 37 crore.

“The completion of work at the airport is expected to be delayed till December 31 against our schedule of October as we had to incorporate some changes in the basic design,” Mr Singhal said. The new buildings, for example, would be glass and steel structures in the new plan, he pointed out. He said only 40-50 seater ATRs can operate from the airport, as the 3,500-metre-long runway strip cannot be used by larger aircraft.

The new airport is expected to connect far-flung parts of North Bengal with a number of domestic destinations including Kolkata, while facilitating tourist traffic in the region, he added.

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