Continuous Reduction in Number of Flights from Durgapur Airport

Durgapur: The number of flights from Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal is decreasing. Flights to Varanasi, Guwahati, Bagdogra, and Bhubaneswar have already been suspended. Currently, there are daily flights between Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Flights for Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai routes are operated four days a week. Airport authorities have released the winter flight schedule. An additional flight facility has been provided on the Delhi route every Thursday, but passengers have demanded an increase in the number of flights. Two years ago, it was announced to start a flight on the Jaipur route via Patna from Durgapur. However, flights on this route could not be started to date. From March 28 this year, flights from Bhubaneswar to Bagdogra and Guwahati via Durgapur have been suspended. It is not that flights were stopped due to a lack of passengers. According to the Airport Authority, every flight has an average seat occupancy of 77 percent. Most of the time it goes up to 80-90 percent. Sometimes all seats are full. Airport Director Kailash Mandal said that there is no shortage of passengers. The problem is with the airlines. There are not enough aircraft, crew is limited, and oil prices have increased. Due to these various reasons, airlines have stopped flights on several routes. Talks are underway with airlines to increase flights.