Kolkata: Greenfield airport operator Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) has alleged the move to withdraw the Air India (AI) flight to Andal airport near Durgapur was arbitrary and cited several other routes in which the airline continues to operate with much lower passenger loads and without viability gap funding (VGF).
"BAPL with the support of the state government brought AI to the Asansol-Durgapur region by paying VGF at a rate that was nearly double of what it would have had to fork out to a private airline with the sole intention of connecting the hinterlands of south Bengal to Delhi. The state government on its part extended a tax holiday on refueling of aircraft at Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport. Yet, AI unilaterally decided to suspend air services to Andal without prior notice and ground the airport while talks were still on to rationalize the VGF," said BAPL managing director Partha Ghosh.
With AI discontinuing the tri-weekly Kolkata-Durgapur-New Delhi and return flight from June 16, there are no scheduled flights between Kolkata and Durgapur and the airport is idle. While the airport can be used by chartered flights, it is only in October that a new scheduled carrier could reconnect Durgapur. Zoom Air that is awaiting DGCA's final nod for operations said Durgapur would be among its first port of call. The airline plans to operate 50-seater CRJ-200LR aircraft between Durgapur and Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with Durgapur acting as the airline's regional hub, Zoom Air CEO Koustav M Dhar said.
20/06/16 Times of India
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"BAPL with the support of the state government brought AI to the Asansol-Durgapur region by paying VGF at a rate that was nearly double of what it would have had to fork out to a private airline with the sole intention of connecting the hinterlands of south Bengal to Delhi. The state government on its part extended a tax holiday on refueling of aircraft at Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport. Yet, AI unilaterally decided to suspend air services to Andal without prior notice and ground the airport while talks were still on to rationalize the VGF," said BAPL managing director Partha Ghosh.
With AI discontinuing the tri-weekly Kolkata-Durgapur-New Delhi and return flight from June 16, there are no scheduled flights between Kolkata and Durgapur and the airport is idle. While the airport can be used by chartered flights, it is only in October that a new scheduled carrier could reconnect Durgapur. Zoom Air that is awaiting DGCA's final nod for operations said Durgapur would be among its first port of call. The airline plans to operate 50-seater CRJ-200LR aircraft between Durgapur and Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with Durgapur acting as the airline's regional hub, Zoom Air CEO Koustav M Dhar said.
20/06/16 Times of India
