AGARTALA, March 10 (TIWN): Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had increased the flight occupancy rate by more than 80% from 70% in Agartala sector, said Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik talking to TIWN on Monday evening. He further added that the MoCA has recently asked the Jet Airways to resume its service in the sector for Agartala-Kolkata route. Earlier Tripura has asked for 16 aircrafts in the Agartala sector till the railways finish its broad gauge project by 2017.It is mentionable here that to study the feasibility of introducing more aircraft in the Agartala sector, the Union civil aviation ministry earlier sought monthly flight occupancy data from Tripura. More than eight lakh people travel from Agartala to Guwahati, Imphal, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad every year. Air traffic has been heavy because of lack of other means of transport. On the issue of Agartala airport extension, Bhowmik expressed his displeasure over the project work. He said that uncertainty prevails over the modernization of Agartala Airport project work as the issue has not been found in the recent Lok Sabah budget session.

The Agartala airport would be the third international standard airport after the Guwahati and Imphal airports.

Talking to TIWN, Tripura Transport Secretary Samarjit Bhowmik said that the flight occupancy rate has been increased from 70 % to more than 80% because of less aircrafts here in Agartala sector. Beside, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had asked the Jet Airways airline company to resume its service in the sector for Agartala-Kolkata route. 

Imphal's Tulihal airport was recently declared as an international airport after its modernization. The Agartala airport modernization project involves upgrading of the runway and aprons, construction of six aerobridges, three elevators and two escalators besides walkways to connect the international arrival and departure levels. The airports are being made international as part of India's "Look East" policy to boost the northeast region's connectivity and trade with Southeast Asia. 

In August last, airlines reduced their operations in the Agartala sector without any valid reason. This created serious problems for the people of the state. Earlier, there were as many as 16 flights from Agartala to Guwahati, Kolkata and Delhi. The state government is planning to modify the ticket selling system. It opposed booking of multiple tickets with a single PNR and later selling them at a high rate. Crime Investigation Department (CID) almost completed the investigation in air ticket black-marketing, which caused severe problems to the passengers during the month of December, last year in Tripura. The final report on air ticket black-marketing is likely to be submitted before the court by CID soon, said an official source of CID.