Passengers will be able to fly straight from Agartala in Tripura to international destinations such as Bangkok and Bangladesh in the near future. Officials from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) stated on Saturday that international flights from the Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) airport in Agartala would begin operating soon, connecting Bangkok with Chittagong and Dhaka in Bangladesh through Guwahati.
According to the most recent data, the MBB airport in Tripura’s capital city is the second busiest airport in north-eastern India, after Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport, in terms of aircraft and passenger handling.
First flight Launched at Agartala Airport’s New Terminal Building
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a new terminal building at Agartala airport on January 4. The first flight from Kolkata landed at MBB Airport’s new integrated terminal building on Saturday, and the airport welcomed the flight with a water cannon salute, according to IANS.
The new integrated terminal building was dedicated in the presence of Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhoumik, who was one of the first passengers to depart from the airport.
The new integrated terminal building costs Rs 5,00 crore to construct. It is designed to handle 1,500 people during peak hours, including 200 international travellers, and is equipped with all modern amenities.
The Agartala airport was created in 1942 after the land was provided by then-Tripura king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. The airport served as a technical facility for the Royal Air Force during World War II.
In July 2018, Agartala Airport, formerly known as Singerbill Airport, was renamed after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. It is heavily utilised by people from Bangladesh, for whom Agartala is frequently the first stop on their trip to any location in India or beyond. The airport is far closer to their homes than the airports in their own country. The airport is located 20 km north of the Tripura capital city.
Earlier international flights were flown from Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International airport (Guwahati airport) to destinations such as Bangkok, Singapore, Bhutan’s Paro, and Bangladesh’s Dhaka, according to AAI authorities. All foreign flights are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
