GUWAHATI
A thrice-a-week direct flight between Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati and Bangkok was introduced on December 1.
Airport officials said the Thai Air Asia flight landed at Guwahati at 11.10 p.m. with 56 passengers, and left at 11.40 p.m. for Bangkok with 97 passengers on board.
“This new flight is expected to go a long way in making our airport a hub of air connectivity to the southeast Asian countries. It will give a fillip to the tourism industry in the northeast,” Utpal Baruah, Guwahati’s Chief Airport Officer said on Saturday.
The service would be extended to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam in the future, he added.
The Guwahati-Bangkok flight will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The flying time between the two cities is 2 hours 35 minutes.
22% growth in passengers
Mr. Baruah said the Guwahati airport handled 4.6 lakh passengers in September, which was 22% more than the 3.6 lakh passengers handled during the same month in 2022.
The airport also recorded about 4,000 air traffic movements in September, 19% more than 3,216 movements in September 2022.
“This has repeatedly established the fact that the LGBI Airport has a huge potential for growth, which indicates the emerging market in the northeast,” he said.
The LGBI Airport also recorded the movement of more than 610 non-scheduled flights (private or chartered) since April. The number of such flights in April was 186 followed by 114 in May, 72 in June, 46 in July, 47 in August, and 144 in September.
The movement of non-scheduled flights has been increasing due to various government, non-government, and business activities taking place in Guwahati and its outskirts, officials said.
