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Rupsi airport faces flight cancellations, affecting tourism growth

Rupsi airport faces flight cancellations, affecting tourism growth

KOKRAJHAR: Under the Udan scheme, the Government of India constructed Rupsi Airport in Kokrajhar district, Assam, to enhance connectivity and promote tourism in the Borderland Territorial Region (BTR). However, the airport has not been performing well, as over 30 flights have been canceled in the last 60 days for various reasons, significantly impacting tourism in the region.

Located in Parbatjhora, Kokrajhar district, Rupsi Airport was shut down for nearly a year before Alliance Air resumed services on November 17, connecting Guwahati and Kolkata via Rupsi. However, the service has faced issues, with earlier passenger services by Flybig also halted till last year.

Alliance Air, formerly Air India Regional, is a subsidiary of Air India Asset Holdings Limited, established after Air India’s disinvestment. Founded in 1996 under Indian Airlines, it merged with Air India in 2011 and remained until 2022. It operates domestic routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme and is an Indian Flag Carrier.
Flybig, a regional airline based in Gurugram, Haryana, is promoted by Big Charter Private Limited. Launched in December 2020, it focuses on connecting tier-2 cities and primarily operates in northern and northwestern India.

The airport was intended to boost tourism by attracting visitors for jungle safaris, river rafting, paragliding, and other activities. Unfortunately, the airport has struggled with regular flight cancellations. In the past two months alone, 30 flights have been canceled. The reasons provided for these cancellations include inadequate lighting at the airport, engineering issues, and unfavorable weather conditions. Despite these challenges, no significant effort has been made to resolve the operational difficulties.

Kokrajhar’s Lok Sabha MP Joyanta Basumatary (UPPL) while Speaking the Sunday Guardian expressed concern over the lack of proper connectivity from Kokrajhar, as frequent flight cancellations force people to travel approximately 250 km by road to Guwahati to catch flights to other parts of the country. The journey takes around five hours by road, making travel inconvenient. For example, if a passenger needs to take an evening flight to Delhi, they must leave Kokrajhar early in the morning to reach Guwahati, given that Rupsi Airport’s flights are often canceled or delayed. Basumatary himself visited the Rupsi airport to assess its operational readiness. During his visit, he interacted with the airport staff, and all preparations appeared to be in place for a flight from Rupsi to Guwahati scheduled for October 19, 2024. However, the airline operator cited issues with the timing of sunset, preventing the flight from operating. This pattern of cancellations continued, with both flights on October 22 canceled due to sunset timing and operational constraints. On October 26, four flights between Rupsi, Guwahati, and Kolkata were also canceled, attributed to engineering issues and sunset time limitations. In November, multiple flights were canceled for operational reasons, including two on November 12, four on November 21, and several others in December. On December 31, weather conditions were blamed for the cancellation of two flights. The situation persisted into 2025, with eight more cancellations in January, again due to operational issues or bad weather.

Pramod Boro, the Chief of the Bodoland Territorial Council, has also voiced his frustration, noting that aviation companies appear reluctant to operate in the region due to perceived low profits. He urged private companies to contribute to the development of the region, especially after the long-standing peace process in Bodoland. Boro suggested that even if lighting for nighttime landings is unavailable, day flights could still be an option. MP Basumatary, who had raised the issue of starting flight operations at the airport with the central government, emphasized that the people of Bodoland had high hopes for the airport to create new development opportunities. Regular flight operations were expected to attract investments to the region, and initially, Alliance Air was supposed to offer services from Rupsi to Guwahati and Kolkata.

Basumatary vowed to continue raising the issue in Parliament and to push the central government to take necessary steps to ensure the smooth operation of the airport, in order to fulfill its intended purpose of boosting tourism and development in the Bodoland Territorial Region.

The Sunday Guardian attempted to reach out to Alliance Air via emails and calls, but received no response.

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