A move is underway to introduce flights between Dhaka, Chattogram and Agartala, the capital of neighbouring Indian state of Tripura aiming to help boost trade and tourism in the region, according to Indian media reports.
Tripura Chief Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Deb on Saturday said Agartala will be connected with Dhaka and Chittagong through flights, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Sunday.
According to it, services along the Agartala-Dhaka and Agartala-Chittagong international routes are expected to begin within the next six months, and the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) will soon float tenders inviting expression of interest from private airlines wishing to operate along the routes.
"Finally, MBB Airport in Agartala is now set to have international flight service with Dhaka and Chittagong," Tripura CM tweeted.
In the Twitter post, Mr Deb also thanked the Indian Prime Minister and Civil Aviation Minister for this initiative to fulfil the dream of the people of Tripura.
"The proposed international flight service with Bangladesh will surely boost Tripura tourism and take the state to a new height in terms of air connectivity," he said in another Twitter post.
"It will also benefit the people of Bangladesh in various ways and strengthen relations between two countries," he added.
The Indian Civil Aviation ministry has included the proposed international routes under the UDAN scheme, Sanjoy Mishra, officer on special duty (OSD) to the chief minister told the PTI.
"The MoCA will now float tenders inviting expressions of interest from private airlines who wish to run their services along the two international routes," Mr Mishra was quoted as saying.
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