Siliguri: The commissioning of the Pakyong aerodrome in Sikkim is expected to ease the load on the Bagdogra airport as a number of air travellers in the Himalayan state and Kalimpong district will shift to the new facility.
The Bagdogra airport has been facing acute congestion because of inadequate infrastructure at the terminal. But the state government is yet to provide land to the Airports Authority of India for expansion of the terminal and allied facilities like car parking.
The airport at Pakyong, located around 35km from Gangtok and around 95km from here, is set to be inaugurated soon. Spicejet has been permitted by the Union civil aviation ministry to operate flights from Pakyong. The airline will operate Bombardier Q 400 planes with 78 seats on the Calcutta-Pakyong-Guwahati and the Delhi-Pakyong routes.
"It is obvious that the rush of passengers from Sikkim will considerably come down at Bagdogra. Also, a section of tourists to the Himalayan state will have the option to fly directly to Pakyong from Delhi and Calcutta," said a source in the AAI.
Residents of Kalimpong are also likely to avail themselves of flights from Pakyong, as it is only 56km from the hill town whereas Bagdogra is around 85km away.
However, unlike Bagdogra where around 27 flights operate a day, the number of flights, immediately after inauguration, will be less in Pakyong.
"But people always tend to access airports located closer to their places. In fact, from Darjeeling, Pakyong is 10km to 15 km of lesser travel than Bagdogra. Hence, there is always a chance that along with Sikkim, fliers from these neighbouring districts of Bengal will also try to catch flights from the new airport. Along with Spicejet, some other airline companies have shown interest in Pakyong," the source said.
This is why, an AAI official said, they expect that there would be some "respite" for Bagdogra, so far as congestion of passenger is concerned.
08/03/18 Avijit Sinha/Telegraph
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
The Bagdogra airport has been facing acute congestion because of inadequate infrastructure at the terminal. But the state government is yet to provide land to the Airports Authority of India for expansion of the terminal and allied facilities like car parking.
The airport at Pakyong, located around 35km from Gangtok and around 95km from here, is set to be inaugurated soon. Spicejet has been permitted by the Union civil aviation ministry to operate flights from Pakyong. The airline will operate Bombardier Q 400 planes with 78 seats on the Calcutta-Pakyong-Guwahati and the Delhi-Pakyong routes.
"It is obvious that the rush of passengers from Sikkim will considerably come down at Bagdogra. Also, a section of tourists to the Himalayan state will have the option to fly directly to Pakyong from Delhi and Calcutta," said a source in the AAI.
Residents of Kalimpong are also likely to avail themselves of flights from Pakyong, as it is only 56km from the hill town whereas Bagdogra is around 85km away.
However, unlike Bagdogra where around 27 flights operate a day, the number of flights, immediately after inauguration, will be less in Pakyong.
"But people always tend to access airports located closer to their places. In fact, from Darjeeling, Pakyong is 10km to 15 km of lesser travel than Bagdogra. Hence, there is always a chance that along with Sikkim, fliers from these neighbouring districts of Bengal will also try to catch flights from the new airport. Along with Spicejet, some other airline companies have shown interest in Pakyong," the source said.
This is why, an AAI official said, they expect that there would be some "respite" for Bagdogra, so far as congestion of passenger is concerned.
08/03/18 Avijit Sinha/Telegraph
0 comments:
Post a Comment