The central government has allowed regular international flights at Bagdogra Airport. So far, flights from neighboring Bhutan’s Paro to Bangkok were allowed to land at Bagdogra, but flights from other countries were not allowed.
Occasionally, a private company got permission to fly on the Bagdogra-Kathmandu route, but it was purely experimental. Bagdogra’s status was ‘Customs Airport’. Darjeeling BJP MP Raju Bist on Tuesday claimed that Bagdogra has been given ‘point of call’ status by the central government.
Which means direct flights can be operated from any country to Bagdogra. As a result, more foreign tourists can visit North Bengal and Sikkim via Bagdogra. The economy there will also be boosted. The tourism businessmen of North Bengal also had this demand for a long time. This will further develop tourism, said Association of Conservation and Tourism leader Raj Bose.
The Ministry of Aviation has also allocated money separately for Bagdogra along with international designation. Preparations for the construction of separate domestic and international lounges have started in Bagdogra, like Kolkata and Delhi. The state government has allotted about 105 acres of land to Bagdogra for this work.
116 countries of the world have bilateral ‘Air Services Agreement’ or ASA with India. Flights from all those countries will be able to fly to Bagdogra, like any other international airport with India’s ‘point of call’ status. Last May, the number of domestic passengers in India crossed 13.8 million. The number of airports increased from 74 to 157 compared to 2014.