Dispur (Assam): Flybig Airlines on Wednesday conducted a successful trial flight on the Guwahati-Rupsi-Guwahati route from the Rupsi Airport near Dhubri in Assam.
The trial run was completed timely and safely with extended support from the state government and agencies concerned, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said on Thursday. The airport is developed under the RCS-UDAN scheme and operations on the Guwahati-Rupsi-Kolkata route will commence from May 8.
The flight is scheduled to operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
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The Rupsi airfield was constructed during World War II to supply arms, manpower and ammunition to the Allied Forces. It was used by the United States Army Air Forces' Tenth Air Force in the China Burma India Theater.
Regional airline Vayudoot used to operate services to the airport in the 1980s. However, it withdrew services following which the airport was shut in 1984. The state government made attempts to revive it with the joint initiative of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the North Eastern Council (NEC), however, they were unsuccessful.
As part of the revival plan of the airstrip under the Central government's UDAN scheme, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of the project on February 2019. Around Rs 70 crore was invested to make the airport suitable for the operation of ATR-72 type aircraft. A 3,500 sqm terminal building was also constructed as part of the project.
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The newly developed airport was developed jointly by the AAI and Indian Air Force for both civil and military operations. The government is also evaluating the feasibility of extending the runway to 10,000 feet to enable the operation of fighter aircraft at Rupsi.
