BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA | 16 MAY 2025
There will be four phases of expansion work of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata and work of the first two phases are already going on, while the Rs.4000 crores proposal to set up an international new terminus has been sent to centre and is awaiting for CEA approval, says Dr. Pravat Ranjan Beuria, Director of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.
With an annual passenger growth of 8.9 percent every year, the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport which is celebrating its 100 years currently caters to 22 million passengers ( both domestic and international) and setting an eye for the next ten years, Airport Authority of India has planned to expand the passenger capacity to about 34 million domestic passenger and nine million international passengers.
Talking to The Travel and Tourism Times, at the sidelines of the symposium on ‘The Journey of Airlines in the Indian Sky’, organised by TAAI Eastern Region, India Tourism and The LaLit Great eastern in Kolkata on Thursday, Dr. Pravat Ranjan Beuria , Director of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport said that the present capacity to handle passengers is 26 million and will soon get exhausted, so a four phase massive expansion project has been planned, the work of the first two phases had already started.
“ We have estimated that by 2035 the passenger number will shoot 45 million in Kolkata airport. The four phase expansion work has been planned and work on the first two phases are going on. There will be a huge requirement for not only passenger capacity but to handle the additional numbers of flights and new long haul big sized aircrafts, hangars etc. The plan includes making two terminals, the existing one after the completion of full expansion will be solely for domestic travel and a new terminal will be set up besides the existing terminal which will be solely an international airport. The Rs.4000 crores Master Plan proposal has been sent to Delhi and is awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) for approval,”he added.
He has given a power point presentation of how AAI is managing the Kolkata airport and so also the airlines. It has completed 100 years of operations. Presently, Kolkata airport has two runways and an apron that can handle 75 aircrafts and the terminal building which can handle 26 million passengers. 24 hours ATC operations etc. With almost zero visibility from 50 metres the aircraft can land. Besides passenger flights, cargo airlines also operate.
At present Kolkata airport is covering 44 destinations. The growth is very positive and challenging, he added. Last year the airport served almost 22 million passengers. By 2027-28 the airport will achieve 26 million passengers with this present growth.
“With the present expansion work another 2 million passengers can be added with the existing 26 million which will become 28 million which can further operate for another three years. The cargo operations will also increase. 39 flights can be accommodated in the Primary Runaway, while the secondary runway can handle 29 flights per hour and 25 flights for another secondary runway.
In 1500 acres of the Kolkata airport about 45 million passengers can be accommodated after which there will be a need for a new airport. The terminals will be overloaded. New International terminal will cater to 9 million passengers and the existing one will be domestic one and will cater more passengers as it requires fewer spaces. New Parking Bays will be increased from existing 75 to 132 and the proposal has already been granted. The four phases when completed will cater 45 million passengers by 20235.
Emirates will also introduce a fuel efficient, large but foldable wings new aircraft carrying 400 passengers and has given an order of 10 numbers of 777X aircrafts and Kolkata will definitely get one of them, he has expressed hopes.
Mr. Manav Soni, central committee member of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has urged the airport director to start online booking of the 25 rest rooms available for passengers inside the terminal building. Unlike some other airports in India , Kolkata airport does not have any hotel in its terminal building.
Mr. Anjani Kumar Dhanuka, Chairman ( East) of TAAI also spoke on the occasion about the current aviation trends and gave a complete scenario .
Mr. Raj Kumar Bhattacharya, Regional Sales Head ( East India), Air India Express, Mr. Priyankar Dugar, Account Manager, Qatar Airways, Md. Raza Habib, Sales Manager (WB) and Mr. Arindam Chakraborty, Senior Sales Officer of flydubai, Ms. Shaimila Sabir, Assistant manager ( Sales) of SriLankan Airlines, Smt. Rebecca Fang Benjamin , Head of Sales of Eastern India of Singapore Airlines, Smt. Geetika Seth, Sales Manager (WB) of Emirates, Ms. Payal Roy, Senior Account Manager of Emirates, Mr. Sujit Chaki, Assistant Manager of Akasa Air, Mr. Sushanta Chatterjee , Associate Director ( Sales) East of IndiGo, Mr. Dipankar Roy Chowdhury, Sales Representative of Thai Airways, Mr. Prasenjit Basu, Sales Manager of Air Arabia were present and also spoke at the symposium.
Members of various travel agencies of Kolkata were also present.
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