A CORRESPONDENT
DHUBRI: FlyBig is connecting people of Lower Assam with the rest of the country from Rupsi Airport and serving people who have to travel during this pandemic. Altogether, 3,476 passengers availed air services since the FlyBig took off first flight from Rupsi Airport on May 8, that in 57 days, in its 72-seater aircraft till Sunday.
The FlyBig flight operates four days in a week - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The first flight lands at Rupsi from Borjhar GN Bordoloi International Airport at 9.10 AM and after half an hour, that is at 9.40 AM, it takes off for Kolkata then flys back to Rupsi and from Rupsi to Borjhar.
Since May 8, flights remained cancelled for four days due to extremely inclement weather condition, a source in the Rupsi Airport informed. Rupsi Airport IAA Officer-in-Charge, Jyotirmoy Baruah, when contacted by The Sentinel, said that passenger occupancy was good and satisfactory and it was growing each passing day.
"Even Sunday, 184 passengers travelled in four flights, that is, with more than 50 per cent occupancy. Once this pandemic is over, passenger flow to Rupsi will increase many folds," Baruah added.
Secretary of Rupsi Airport Revival Demand Committee, Jyotirmoy Chakraborty too expressed satisfaction over the growing number of passengers and hoped that the number would grow more in the coming months.
"Had there been no pandemic, there would have been regular flights from Rupsi by this time. But we are hopeful of regular flights once the lockdown is lifted and normalcy is restored in the coming few months," Chakraborty added.
The airport is now catering to the need of air travellers from four districts of western Assam, particularly Dhubri, Kokarajhar, Chirang and Bongaigaon. But soon passengers from Goalpara as well as the neighbouring States of West Bengal and Meghalaya, besides some parts of Bhutan, are likely to avail flights from Rupsi.
Rupsi Airport, which came into being during World War II in 1945, had remained operational till 1983, but thereafter it was closed down and reopened after complete renovation on May 8 this year.