Kolkata: The state government on Monday removed all restrictions on incoming flyers, both domestic and international, other than the need for them to be either fully vaccinated or furnish a Covid negative test report prior to the journey.
Following the latest decision, direct flights from Bengaluru can resume daily operations to Kolkata, Bagdogra and Andal near Durgapur. Since last two weeks, curbs had been placed on flights from Bengaluru with operations restricted to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Taking a cue from the Union home ministry's decision to do away with quarantine requirement on foreign travellers, the state home department also announced that arriving passengers who are fully vaccinated or have undergone RT-PCR test conducting within 72 hours from the time of flight departure will not be required to quarantine at home for seven days.
“Reopening Bengaluru will mean around 60 additional flights a week. Going forward, the passenger count at Kolkata airport should witness a steady improvement,” Kolkata airport Airlines Operators’ Committee chairman Rahul Wadhwa said.
At present, the daily passenger count at Kolkata airport is hovering between 28,000 and 34,000 with 260-odd flights flying into and out of Kolkata. The average load is around 75%. In December 2021, the facility was clocking around 50,000 passengers daily with 390-odd flights in operation. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, the airport used to clock over 60,000 passengers daily on an average and saw 500-520 flight movements a day.
15/02/22 Subhro Niyogi & Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India
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