Tripura Tourism and Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to intervene in the recent withdrawal and reduction of several flight services from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala, stating that the situation has caused considerable inconvenience and concern among air passengers in the state.
In a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister on Tuesday (August 11), Chowdhury highlighted that airlines including Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air have either withdrawn, reduced or proposed to withdraw services from Agartala on several important routes.
According to the letter, Air India has reduced its services and is likely to discontinue its Agartala-Guwahati operation from October 22. Air India Express has also withdrawn or reduced services on important routes, while its Agartala-Bagdogra-Bengaluru service has reportedly been withdrawn.
The minister further stated that IndiGo’s direct Agartala-Hyderabad service is proposed to be withdrawn from October 1, while Akasa Air is scheduled to withdraw its service from Agartala from October 22. Earlier, services on the Agartala-Shillong, Agartala-Aizawl and direct Agartala-Chennai routes had also been withdrawn.
Chowdhury said the reduction in flights has come at a time when demand for improved air connectivity from Agartala is increasing. The decline in services has affected connectivity between Tripura and major cities across the country and has also led to a sharp rise in airfares, particularly on the Agartala-Kolkata, Agartala-Delhi, Agartala-Guwahati and Agartala-Bengaluru routes.
The minister pointed out that the surge in airfares is creating financial hardship and inconvenience for passengers travelling for medical treatment, higher education, business, official work and other urgent purposes.
Seeking the Union Minister’s personal intervention, Chowdhury requested that the matter be taken up with the concerned airlines and that all possible measures be explored to restore withdrawn services, retain existing operations and augment capacity on high-demand routes from Agartala.
He also urged the Centre to take appropriate measures to curb the surge in airfares and ensure affordable air connectivity for the people of Tripura.
Chowdhury expressed hope that the Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s intervention would help ensure essential air connectivity and reduce passenger inconvenience and public concern in the state.