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About three months after a star-studded take-off ceremony, India’s latest airport, Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal near Durgapur, is in trouble.
Two non-scheduled flight operators, Pinnacle Air and Spirit Airways, have suspended operations and central government-owned Air India’s flight on the Kolkata-Durgapur route is getting few passengers.
Pinnacle Air was operating from Kolkata to Cooch Behar four times a week, landing at Durgapur and Bagdogra. It and Air India marked the beginning of commercial operations at Andal airport (20 km from Durgapur town) on May 18. It has now decided to suspend operations. Spirit started thrice-a-week services on the Kolkata-Andal-Patna route in mid-June. It took the operator only a few weeks to decide the service was not viable. Its regional manager (operations), Gouranga Bhattacharya, says he does not want to comment on this.
Air India’s six-day-a-week Durgapur-Kolkata flight is also struggling to get passengers; a staffer on duty says the average occupancy is about 15 a day. The overall result is that apart from a few security personnel and a handful of Air India staffers, the site is anything but airport-like.
Air India employees say they are continuing the service as Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL), which launched the project, is subsidising the loss under an earlier deal. It has so far invested about Rs 1,000 crore in the airport and allied infrastructure. “Apart from the flight hours in the evening, you will hardly find anyone here. It is difficult for those working there as well, as there is only barren land all around. Hope things will change soon with the (aero) city coming up,” says a staffer.
BAPL Managing Director Partha Ghosh says things will look up. “Yes, occupancy is 30-35 per cent. These are very initial days. We are working on campaigns and promotions to make the airport popular and get more flights.”
Initially, the fare was fixed at Rs 2,500 but Air India is now having a promotional offer of Rs 999 (excluding taxes) for a one-way journey on the Durgapur-Kolkata route. The Air India flight takes off from Kolkata at 5 pm and lands at Andal at 5:45 pm daily. The return flight takes off from Andal at 6:05 pm and reaches Kolkata at 6:50 pm.
Many say there are cheaper and more convenient ways to go to Kolkata from Durgapur. Including taxes, one will have to pay about Rs 1,300 for a one-way journey now. “A passenger needs to report to the airline counter two hours before departure. Then, there is a 45-minute flying time. After landing, one has to spend some time collecting baggage and then at least half an hour to drive from Andal to Durgapur. Compare that with a road journey on a Volvo bus or an express train which takes about three hours,” argues Travel Agents Federation of India Chairman (East) Anil Punjabi.
He adds: “BAPL needs to work with corporate houses and travel agents. It has to cultivate its catchment area with more aggression. It will also have to focus on basic passenger amenities, such as availability of transportation to and from the airport. Subsidising the flier or seat underwriting might not sustain for more than a year.”
It is believed BAPL might consider other routes, such as a direct flight to Delhi or even an international flight to Dhaka for attracting passengers. “Of the 10-15 passengers travelling from Durgapur daily, most are employees of SAIL (Steel Authority of India, which has a big unit), who take connecting flights to Delhi from the Kolkata airport,” says an Air India staffer. “It is convenient for many SAIL employees to take the flight because of the through check-in facility.”
Ghosh says BAPL is in talks with Air India for a Durgapur-Delhi route. However, there is a catch. A 48-seater ATR aircraft cannot fly to Delhi. The aircraft needed would have at least 120 seats and to get that many passengers would be difficult in this scenario.
“As we talk, we are carrying out promotional events, tying up with local clubs, institutions and local chambers of commerce. We are also engaging with all companies in the region,” says Ghosh.
All through, BAPL has been banking on the Asansol-Durgapur-Dhanbad industrial belt. The Asansol-Durgapur Planning Area has a population of about three million. BAPL’s catchment area accounts for facilities across the iron & steel, aluminium, locomotives, cables, specialised optical lenses, coal mining and power generation sectors, with ancillary units. Major units in the catchment area employ a large number of employees, of which 15 per cent is the management cadre, says a BAPL internal assessment report. “There are 17 engineering colleges, two deemed universities, 18 polytechnics and management institutes within the project’s immediate and extended catchment area,” it adds.
It is time, then, to cultivate what BAPL has believed in all these years. More so as the future of the proposed airport city, with an information technology park, hospitals and a residential complex (spread over 1,800 acres) also hinges on the success of the airport to a great extent.
SLOW TAKE-OFF
- Pinnacle Air and Spirit Airways have suspended operations at the airport due to low demand
- Air India’s six-day-a-week Durgapur-Kolkata flight’s occupancy is about 15 a day
- Bengal Aerotropolis Pvt Ltd has so far invested about Rs 1,000 crore in the Andal airport and allied infrastructure
