Rupsi Airport in Assam to start operations from May 8

Flight services in Assam between Rupsi Airport to Guwahati and Kolkata is set to begin from May 8. The flight service will initially connect Rupsi, Guwahati, and Kolkata Airports. The newly-launched domestic airlines called FlyBig will begin flight operations from May 8 in the Northeast region. On May 6, FlyBig Airlines conducted a successful trial of flights at Rupsi Airport and, in due course, will cover the other destinations of the Northeast. Rupsi Airport was built during the World War-2 and is set to restart its operations after a long gap of 38 years. With the objective of Sab Uden Sab Juden, the Civil Aviation Ministry included Rupsi airport and 78 routes under Udan 4.0 Bonanza Phase-1 to Northeast under East Policy Act. The revival work of this much-awaited Rupsi Airport of Lower Assam was completed a year ago in the period of 14 months. Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati and Bagdogra International Airport at Siliguri in Bengal, which is nearby, are situated at a similar distance of 270 km from Rupsi Airport. The airport area became a part of Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) after being carved out a few years ago though it was initially under the revenue circle of Dhubri district. The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) governs the BTR. As much as 337 of the 447 acres of AAI was handed over to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The AAI began reviving the Rupsi airport by performing 'Bhumi Puja' on May 24, 2018. The authority developed the airport for both defence and civil operations because the location and proximity of the airport are close to Myanmar, China and Bangladesh, which is an additional advantage for the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has no airbase in Assam. Image SourceAlso read: Foundation stone laid to extend terminal building at Gorakhpur airport