Tripura Minister urges Centre to check flight cuts, rising airfares

Agartala, Aug 11 (IANS) Tripura Transport and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury has urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu to intervene in the reported withdrawal and reduction of several flight services from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala, saying the move has caused considerable inconvenience to air passengers and triggered concerns over connectivity and rising airfares.

In a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Chowdhury said that in recent months, services of Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo and Akasa Air have either been withdrawn, reduced or are proposed to be withdrawn from various sectors, adversely affecting air connectivity between Tripura and major cities across the country.

The Tripura minister said Air India has reduced its services and is likely to discontinue its operations on the Agartala–Guwahati sector from October 22. He said Air India Express has also withdrawn or reduced services on important routes, while its Agartala–Bagdogra (West Bengal)–Bengaluru service is reported to be withdrawn. Similarly, IndiGo’s direct Agartala–Hyderabad service is proposed to be withdrawn from October 1, while Akasa Air is scheduled to withdraw its service from Agartala from October 22, the minister said in his letter.

Chowdhury also pointed out that services on the Agartala–Shillong, Agartala–Aizawl and direct Agartala–Chennai sectors had earlier been withdrawn. “The reduction in the number of flights, contrary to the growing demand for increased air connectivity from Agartala, has significantly affected the availability of air services from Tripura to major cities across the country,” the minister said.

He said the reduction in flight services had also resulted in a sharp surge in airfares, particularly on important sectors such as Agartala–Kolkata, Agartala–Delhi, Agartala–Guwahati and Agartala–Bengaluru. According to the minister, the situation was causing considerable financial hardship and inconvenience to passengers, particularly those travelling for medical treatment, higher education, business, official work and other urgent purposes.

Chowdhury sought the personal intervention of the Union Civil Aviation Minister and urged him to take up the issue with the concerned airlines to safeguard the interests of passengers and maintain essential air connectivity to Tripura. “It is requested that all possible measures may kindly be explored for the restoration of withdrawn services, retention of existing services and augmentation of capacity on high‑demand routes from Agartala,” he said.

The Tripura minister also requested the Centre to take appropriate measures to curb the surge in airfares and ensure affordable air connectivity for the people of the state. He said that the withdrawal or reduction of flight services at a time when demand for air connectivity was increasing had emerged as a matter of concern for passengers and could further affect people travelling from Tripura for essential and time‑sensitive purposes.

Chowdhury urged the Union Civil Aviation Minister to ensure that essential air connectivity to the landlocked Northeastern state was maintained and passenger inconvenience and public concern over the issue were addressed.

–IANS

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