5 days ago
AAI team visits Tripura CM Manik Saha, holds discussions to revive defunct Kailashahar airport
An Airports Authority of India (AAI) delegation Tuesday met Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha and discussed the proposed revival of the Kailashahar airport in the Unakoti district, which has been defunct for 30 years.
According to an official from the Chief Minister's Office, the AAI team visited the Kailasahar airport for an on-the-support survey Sunday.
The AAI team's visit followed CM Saha's recent meeting with Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya Scindia in Delhi, in which the chief minister requested him to revive the Kailashahar airport soon.
Dr Saha also wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu about the issue, said the CMO official.
Tripura currently relies on a single major airport, Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in the capital Agartala, which caters only to domestic passengers.
In September 2024, Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said the Centre will declare the MBB Airport in Agartala an international airport and make two other defunct airports operational.
According to historian and writer Pannalal Roy, the erstwhile kings of Tripura had donated land for the Agartala and Kailasahar airports.
During World War II, Maharaja Bir Bikram supported the Allied powers, particularly Great Britain, by deploying a team from the Tripura army to assist them.
During this period, airports were constructed in Agartala, Kailasahar, and other locations to facilitate support for the Allied forces. The Agartala airport was renamed after Maharaja Bir Bikram in July 2018.
Highlighting MBB airport as one of the airports equipped with the most modern infrastructure, CM Saha had earlier requested the Centre to introduce international services from the airport.
'At present, many flights are operating to most of the important cities throughout the country. More flights will be added in future. There were discussions to begin an international flight to Chittagong in Bangladesh, but the plan is on hold due to the current situation in Bangladesh,' Dr Saha had said.
In the Northeast region, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati and Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal have international status. Tripura's MBB Airport has the second-most air traffic in the region after Guwahati.
