From April-October, Bagdogra airport recorded 60 per cent increase in footfall

The airport director said there were several reasons behind the steady increase in footfall at Bagdogra. “One of the reasons is that if you were to book your tickets even 15 days in advance, the flight prices are just slightly higher than train tickets. Merely Rs 200-300 more. We have noticed that there has been a shift and people who had earlier been travelling by train are now opting to travel by air,’’ he said.

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) is also the cheapest in the country at Bagdogra airport. The state government had removed the tax on aviation fuel at the airport to boost tourism in the region. “Zero VAT on fuel makes Bagdogra an extremely attractive destination for airlines and so more and more airlines are coming here. Three years ago we used to run 12-13 flights a day. The number has now gone up to 21-22 flights a day. Even Kolkata airport continues to have a 20 per cent VAT on ATF as do all the other neighbouring airports like Guwahati and Patna. Uttar Pradesh has last week reduced the tax on ATF, but even so , t is not zero like it is here,” Sahay pointed out.

As a matter of fact, Bagdogra airport’s catchment area for tourists is not West Bengal but, interestingly enough, north India. Passengers from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan take flights from Delhi, which has 12 non-stop flights to Bagdogra everyday. Kolkata has seven flights to Bagdogra. All the seven flights originate out of other airports like Chennai and Bangalore.

During the north Bengal floods earlier this year, Bagdogra remained the only lifeline connecting the region to the rest of the country. “All other modes of transport had shut down as rail tracks and roads remained submerged under water. During the 15 day period, we had to start five additional flights catering to 2,000 additional passengers,” said Sahay.

Bagdogra airport has been in the process of upgradation and expansion to handle the increased passenger load. While the second phase of the expansion has already begun, it will only be completed in another one and half years, Sahay added.