Agartala, Sep 01, 2024, IANS

Agartala, Sep 1 (IANS) The Air India Express on Sunday introduced daily flights on the Agartala-Guwahati-Delhi-Kolkata route, making travel more convenient for the people of Tripura and the adjoining states. An Airport Authority of India (AAI) official said that through a brief ceremony, the maiden Air India Express flight started its journey from the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala. MBB Airport Director K.C. Meena said the competitive pricing would allow passengers to opt for affordable rates to reach the national capital, Guwahati and Kolkata. The service will facilitate people from Tripura and other northeastern states who visit West Bengal regularly for medical treatment, tourism, education, business and many other purposes. Air India Express has become the fourth flier to start its aircraft service from the MBB airport. The other three fliers are Air India, Indigo and Akasa. The Tripura government has been pressing for the MBB Airport in Agartala to be designated as an international airport. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, former Tripura Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb recently urged the Civil Aviation Minister (Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu) to declare the MBB Airport as an international airport. Deb had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new integrated terminal building of MBB Airport, built for Rs 500 crore on January 4, 2022. "The Tripura government has provided Rs 18.85 crore to the AAI to start aircraft operation in the Agartala-Chittagong (Bangladesh) route. The airport can handle 1,000 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours," he had informed the House. AAI sources said that the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati and the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal currently enjoy international status in the northeastern region. AAI officials said that currently, 16 flights operate from the MBB Airport regularly with over 4,000 passengers travelling daily. Little over 20 km north of the state capital, the airport, earlier known as Singerbill Airport, was renamed after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur by the Union government in July 2018. With a built-up area of 30,000 sq mt, the new terminal building has been designed to handle both domestic and international passengers simultaneously during peak hours. The airport was built in 1942 after the land was donated by then Tripura king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur and was used as a technical base for the Royal Air Force during World War II.