On its first day of commercial operations, 101 passengers flew into and out of Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport at Andal in three flights that operated on Monday . Most of them were VIPs -cinestars, ministers and bureaucrats.And all -except one Captain Anirudh Agarwal -of them were guests of the state government and airport developer Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL).
It was quite by chance that Agarwal, posted at the Panagarh airfield of Indian Air Force, became the first paying passenger to use the country's first private sector greenfield airport. He would surely have missed the distinction and the flight had it been on time. But as luck would have it (or lucky stars?), the flight's departure was delayed by 40 minutes, giving enough time for the airline to reopen bookings and make the transaction.
Agarwal had initially been turned away at the ticket counter as he had arrived at the Andal airport barely 15 minutes before the scheduled 6.05 pm departure of Alliance Air flight 9I 714. But with flight 9I 713 that arrived from Kolkata at 5.45 pm packed with VIPs from Kolkata, the departure was pushed back to allow a refreshment break at the terminal.
The IAF officer finally managed to purchase a ticket to Delhi from Andal via Kolkata for Rs.18,551 at 6.30 pm.When the 42-seater ATR 42320 aircraft finally took off for Kolkata from Andal 15 minutes later, the quiet man in seat no. 7C was barely noticed. But he didn't mind the obscurity and was more than happy that there were cinestars on board to grab the limelight.
But for officials of BAPL, the real VIP was the unexpected 37th passenger: Anirudh Agarwal. After reaching Kolkata, Agarwal took Air India's Delhi connection flight AI023 at 8.15pm. Apart from Alliance Air, Pinnacle Air also operated a flight to Andal from Kolkata that flew onward to Cooch Behar on the first day.
The airport authorities and the airlines hope it is a good omen for future. Till Monday evening, 18 passengers had booked on Tuesday's flight to Andal from Kolkata and 23 on the return flight the same evening.
As of now, the Alliance Air flight schedule has been structured in a manner which will enable easy connectivity to Delhi and Mumbai via Kolkata. Through check-in facility has been arranged for passengers travelling from Durgapur to the win metros.
Earlier, flagging off the star-studded flight at Kolkata airport, state finance minis er Amit Mitra said it was a proud day for Bengal to house he country's first private greenfield airport facility.“The airport's takeoff realizes Mamata Banerjee's dream of putting Durgapur on the country's aviation map,“ he said.
BAPL managing director Partha Ghosh said the company's dream was to address he latent need for flight connectivity to the Asansol-Durgapur region that has been he state's primary industrial belt for decades.“We challenged ourselves continuously to achieve this eat of being India's first private greenfield airport,“ he said.
It was quite by chance that Agarwal, posted at the Panagarh airfield of Indian Air Force, became the first paying passenger to use the country's first private sector greenfield airport. He would surely have missed the distinction and the flight had it been on time. But as luck would have it (or lucky stars?), the flight's departure was delayed by 40 minutes, giving enough time for the airline to reopen bookings and make the transaction.
Agarwal had initially been turned away at the ticket counter as he had arrived at the Andal airport barely 15 minutes before the scheduled 6.05 pm departure of Alliance Air flight 9I 714. But with flight 9I 713 that arrived from Kolkata at 5.45 pm packed with VIPs from Kolkata, the departure was pushed back to allow a refreshment break at the terminal.
The IAF officer finally managed to purchase a ticket to Delhi from Andal via Kolkata for Rs.18,551 at 6.30 pm.When the 42-seater ATR 42320 aircraft finally took off for Kolkata from Andal 15 minutes later, the quiet man in seat no. 7C was barely noticed. But he didn't mind the obscurity and was more than happy that there were cinestars on board to grab the limelight.
But for officials of BAPL, the real VIP was the unexpected 37th passenger: Anirudh Agarwal. After reaching Kolkata, Agarwal took Air India's Delhi connection flight AI023 at 8.15pm. Apart from Alliance Air, Pinnacle Air also operated a flight to Andal from Kolkata that flew onward to Cooch Behar on the first day.
The airport authorities and the airlines hope it is a good omen for future. Till Monday evening, 18 passengers had booked on Tuesday's flight to Andal from Kolkata and 23 on the return flight the same evening.
As of now, the Alliance Air flight schedule has been structured in a manner which will enable easy connectivity to Delhi and Mumbai via Kolkata. Through check-in facility has been arranged for passengers travelling from Durgapur to the win metros.
Earlier, flagging off the star-studded flight at Kolkata airport, state finance minis er Amit Mitra said it was a proud day for Bengal to house he country's first private greenfield airport facility.“The airport's takeoff realizes Mamata Banerjee's dream of putting Durgapur on the country's aviation map,“ he said.
BAPL managing director Partha Ghosh said the company's dream was to address he latent need for flight connectivity to the Asansol-Durgapur region that has been he state's primary industrial belt for decades.“We challenged ourselves continuously to achieve this eat of being India's first private greenfield airport,“ he said.
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