GUWAHATI: Rupsi Airport in Parbatjhora, Kokrajhar, is set to resume flights from November 17, with Alliance Air implementing student services to Guwahati and Kolkata. This decision marks nearly a year after the airport had suspended operations on November 8, 2023, after Flybig Airlines ceased its services under the UDAN scheme.
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This resumption of flights came after widespread protests by local organisations and the intervention of Member of Parliament (MP) Joyanta Basumatary, who had previously raised the issue in Parliament. The Indian government prioritised the revival of flights, and the preliminary preparations are now complete. Basumatary recently visited Rupsi Airport to inspect the necessary arrangements.
Earlier this year, the Assam Cabinet announced plans to rename Rupsi Airport in honour of Bodo social reformer Gurudev Kalicharan Brahma. However, this decision has sparked local-wide controversy, with eight organisations staging protests outside the airport on August 2.
Rupsi Airport, located in western Assam, holds historical significance as the second-largest airport in Asia. Its origins date back to the era of the Rupshi Zamindar of the Koch dynasty. The land, once a tea garden spanning 7,200 bighas, belonged to Jatindra Narayan Choudhury, the last Zamindar of Rupshi.