Kolkata : North Bengal town Cooch Behar will be back on the air map after a gap of 16 years and several failed bids with the launch of a commercial flight between Cooch Behar and Kolkata Tuesday. Ahead of the launch, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was keen on restarting the air service, said it has been decided to subsidise the operation.
"Definitely this will soon turn into a profit-making venture," she said.
The state government has projected the area to be a prosperous industrial growth centre and a tourist destination.
Private carrier Northeast Shuttles will operate an 18-seater Dornier aircraft on the route and the fare has been fixed at Rs 5,000.
The state government would provide subsidy by reserving eight seats per trip, regional executive director of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Goutam Mukherjee said.
Mukherjee said that on the inaugural day, a Northeast Shuttles flight from Guwahati would land at Cooch Behar at 11 AM and take off an hour later for Kolkata with new passengers on board.
The airport was lying idle after the lone Vayudoot flight was withdrawn in 1995.
The crumbling infrastructure at the airport was refurbished at a cost of Rs 40 crore by the AAI.
18/07/11 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times
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