Sujalaam
Skycity reaches for the skies and the future looks brighter than ever. Kazi
Nazrul Islam (KNI) Airport has sprung back into action.
However,
what makes it even more special is the fact that its reboot has coincided with
the launch of the Nation’s 10th full-service scheduled airline Zoom
Air — an event that is sure to be registered as
a bright chapter in India’s aviation history.
On February
12, 2017, Zoom Air, which is based out of Gurgaon and promoted by Zexus Air
Services, launched its inaugural flight from Delhi. Its Bombardier CRJ-200LR
series twin-engine jet aircraft, which was flagged off by Union Civil Aviation
Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, flew out of the National Capital and landed at
KNI Airport, an occasion that was cheered by everyone present at the venue as the aircraft taxied in through the traditional water-cannon
salute.
Three days
after this event, on February 15, the airline officially launched its regular
services to and from the airport, connecting a trio of cities — Delhi-Kolkata-Durgapur.
Zoom Air is
the most affordable premium full-service airline
in the Nation at the moment. While it offers a 2x2 seating arrangement that offers
considerably more legroom than most crammed layouts presented
by the usual Boeings — and complimentary delicatessen meals to go with it — it
does so at fares comparable with trains’.
This latest
development is consonant with objectives set for the aviation industry in the
recent Regional Connectivity Scheme published by the Ministry of Civil
Aviation, Government of India. Aligning itself to the objectives, Zoom Air has
planned to connect underserved and unserved airports, catering to tier II and III
cities that most other airlines do not attend.
The airline
is planning to ramp up its operations further from April this year, with more
frequent flights and more destinations connecting Kolkata and Durgapur.
In its first phase of expansion, Zoom Air will
connect to Aizawl, Aurangabad, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Dimapur, Durgapur,
Hyderabad, Kullu, Jorhat, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ranchi, Mumbai, Srinagar and
Shillong from New Delhi. The airline will also provide seamless connections to
international flights from the third terminal (T3)
of Delhi and the second (T2) of Mumbai.
Zoom Air is seriously considering KNI Airport as its regional
hub in Eastern India. Among the many reasons for its doing so — barring the
obvious benefits of superior infrastructure and planning — the airline cites
advantages on landing and parking charges and zero tax
on aviation fuel as some of the key benefits they have received at Sujalaam Skycity.
With the KNI
Airport back in action, the people of Durgapur have a faster, easier and entirely
affordable premium service to rely on to reach the national capital in less
than two hours. This is a development that clearly marks the beginning of a
pioneering phase of development in Bengal.
