Agartala

Direct flight services connecting Agartala with Bagdogra in West Bengal will start on Sunday evening, while Agartala–Silchar flights in southern Assam will resume on October 28 after nearly 30 years, officials said. Air India Express will operate the Agartala–Bagdogra route from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport, while IndiGo will run the Agartala–Silchar service twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Bagdogra Airport, around 68 km from Darjeeling, will provide easier access for tourists, and the resumption of Agartala–Silchar flights marks renewed connectivity between the two Northeastern cities. With these new services, Agartala will now have direct air links to 10 domestic destinations, including Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati, and Chennai.

MBB Airport, the second busiest in the Northeast after Guwahati, currently handles 13–16 flights daily and 4,000–5,000 passengers. Its newly built 30,000 sq. metre terminal can manage domestic and international travelers simultaneously during peak hours. The airport also ranks 10th nationwide in customer satisfaction among all Indian airports.

Tripura’s Transport and Tourism Minister, Sushanta Chowdhury, said the state government is supporting the planned Agartala–Chittagong flight by SpiceJet, with Rs 15 crore allocated for the project. However, political unrest in Bangladesh has delayed the launch.

Historian Pannalal Roy noted that the land for Agartala and other airports in Tripura was donated by the royal family, and MBB Airport played a key role during World War II, including withstanding Japanese air raids in 1943.