Agartala: International flight service from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport in Agartala to Chittagong in Bangladesh is likely to be begin by June 26, officials told EastMojo.
Airport Authority of India officials said that flight services were supposed to be launched by June 1, but due to technical problems, the launch of the much-anticipated air service is delayed.
“Actually, the immigration counters are being fine-tuned prior to the official launch of the flight services. It is better to be fully prepared because a lot of security concerns are related to the operation of international flights. This is the reason behind the delay”, an official said on condition of anonymity.
According to sources, Spice Jet has informed the MBB airport authorities to ensure that all arrangements are made before June 26 as the air carrier is eager to begin services on the proposed date.
Private air carrier Vistara, owned by TATA, will also operate flights between Agartala and Bangalore.
“The Vistara has also expressed their interest to operate a direct flight between Agartala and Bangalore. This service is also going to start in the third week of June”, the source said.
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When asked why flight service providers are choosing the MBB airport, sources said, “The state government has let go off its larger share of value added taxes for the Aviation Turbine Fuel. Now the fuel is much cheaper in MBB airport in comparison to other parts of the country which is why flight operating companies are now interested to include MBB airport in the map of their travel. This is the positive side of the policy level decisions of the state government”.
Notably, the government of Tripura has provided Rs 15 crore as Viability Gap Funding for international flight services.
Also Read | Tripura benefitted most in NE from Act East policy: CM