Taking a serious concern over the rising airfare on the Agartala-Kolkata route, Tripura’s Transport Minister in a letter to the managing director of Indigo airlines appealed to take concrete steps to reduce airfares at the earliest.

In a letter addressed to Indigo Airlines’ Managing Director Rahul Bhatia on Wednesday, the Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury expressed his serious disappointment over the exorbitant prices of air tickets in the Agartala-Kolkata route and the reduction of flight services in the same route.

Chowdhury said that “we have observed that ticket prices for flights between Agartala and Kolkata are currently between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 12,000 for a distance of only 327 km and the issue was highlighted by the members of Tripura Legislative Assembly during their last session on September 5, 2024.” He added that the media , both regional and national, has also criticized these high fares.

Chowdhury pointed out that the Tripura government already took steps to support the aviation sector by reducing the VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 16% to 1% from November 2021 to promote the aviation sector and encourage lower airfare.

The minister highlighting media reports over Indigo’s upcoming winter schedule changes, including the replacement of two 78-seater ATR flights with larger 180-seater Airbus aircraft on the Agartala-Kolkata route, starting on October 27, 2024 and December 16, 2024 and the cancellation of the last night flight (an Airbus) from Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata will reduce the total number of available seats by 360 on both sides. He added that this situation raises concerns about limited air travel options for passengers in the state.

Chowdhury urged Indigo Airlines to reconsider its decision to withdraw three flights on the Agartala-Kolkata route and to establish a cap on the maximum airfare to protest the interests of the  public on the same route. He emphasized that this would help ensure that air travel remains affordable and accessible for the people of Tripura.