Three more flights from Ranchi, int’l air service to begin soon
Civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha says air service between Bokaro-Kolkata and DumkaKolkata would begin soon, minister says state capital meets all requirement for international operation
RANCHI: Alliance Air, a whollyowned subsidiary of Air India, launched flight services for Kolkata and Raipur from Ranchi on Friday, while the service for Bhubaneswar will take off from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Airport on Saturday.
Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das and Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha flagged off the Raipur bound 72-seater flight from Ranchi airport on Friday. Over 40 passengers flew for Raipur, a new city added as a direct destination from Ranchi, while 60 passengers booked seats for Kolkata on the very first day.
With the launch of the service, number of flights taking off from Ranchi airport per day to different destinations across the country increased to 27, which was merely 11 in 2014, the Union minister of state for civil aviation said.
“The way demand for flights is increasing in Ranchi, we hope to see operation of international flight for destinations like Singapore or Dubai by next year. Ranchi’s airport is designed and equipped with facilities for handling international air service,” Sinha added.
Passenger traffic at Ranchi airport escalated four-fold since 2014. Number of passengers in 2014 was six lakh, which is projected 27 lakh in 2018, airport officials said.
“International air service is considered viable for the airport, which could cater passenger flow of over 27 or 30 lakh. So, Ranchi qualifies for international air service,” Sinha said. He, however, said no airline has so far expressed interest for international service from Ranchi.
In a bid to bolster the regional connectivity under “Connecting India” mission of Government of India, air service between Bokaro-Kolkata, Dumka-Kolkata and Dumka-Ranchi would soon begin.
“Airport renovation work is under progress in Bokaro and Dumka. We hope the two airports would be ready within a year for flight service,” the minister said, adding, the Deoghar airport is also expected to come into operation in two to three years.
Sinha said air service from Jharkhand’s other cities such as Dalbhumgarh, Hazaribag, Daltonganj and Dhanbad would also be started soon. A memorandum of understanding between Jharkhand government and airport authority of India (AAI) is proposed to be signed for establishing a joint venture for construction and operations of these airports.
State urban development minister CP Singh, who was also present during flagging of the new air service at Ranchi airport, said, “Government has decided to acquire 24 acres of land from army for development of airport facilities. In return, army would be given the same size of land on other side.”
Singh said car parking, hotel and offices could be developed on the proposed acquired land.