PM Modi to visit Tripura on Jan 4 to inaugurate new terminal building at Agartala airport

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Tripura on January 4 to inaugurate the new terminal building of Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport in Agartala, as per sources. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday attended a meeting with Special Secretary regarding PM Modi's visit to the state while Bharatiya Janata Party said that the Prime Minister will further address a gathering at Swami Vivekananda Stadium in the capital city of the state.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is set to attend the inaugural ceremony of the annexe terminal building. The Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport is headed to be introduced in the list of international airports. In the northeast region, the Agartala airport is the busiest after the one in Guwahati. The rush is associated with a sizeable number of Bangladeshi passengers who board flights from Agartala to reach other parts of the country.

International airport in Agartala

Notably, the New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) has been built in a span of 0.03 square kilometre area. A range of high-end facilities has been installed including full-body scanners and modern aprons that are able to handle Airbus-321. The new building will be able to handle a crowd of 1,200 passengers at once with 20 check-in counters.

Earlier, sources placed highly in the Civil Secretariat informed ANI that the Government of Tripura has approached the Civil Aviation seeking direct international flight linkages between Agartala-Chittagong and Agartala-Singapore routes. CM Deb has sought direct flight service for the Agartala-Dhaka route during a virtual meeting with the Union Civil Aviation Minister. 

"Tripura government is eager to ensure connectivity with all the South East Asian countries, especially the commercial capitals. If Agartala gets direct flights to all the commercial capitals of the South East Asian countries, Agartala will become a strategic point in the global mao," ANI quoted a source as saying. 

"Even the government has decided to grant subsidies to make sure that the international flights show interest in Tripura. Only recently, the government has reduced the state's share of taxes on Aviation Turbine Fuel. Similarly, some other steps shall surely be taken to attract the airlines operating international flights," the source added, according to ANI.