Gangtok, Sikkim
News Update: 01-June-2018
After a long wait of 70 years after the Independence of India, the first airport is getting functional this month in the Sikkim, a beautiful Himalayan state of India. The Pakyong Airport, which is located near the Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim is going to be operational for the commercial aircraft. So, the small Hilly state will finally get on the aviation map of India. If the things go ahead as per the schedule of the Indian Aviation Department, people can fly to Sikkim from Kolkata in the first week of June.
The Civil Aviation Minister of India, Suresh Prabhu had announced last month in May that the Pakyong airport had got the operating license for commercial flights. The newly built airport of Pakyong is located at an altitude of 4500 ft and around 30 km away from Gangtok. SpiceJet airways got the permission to fly to the Pokyong airport from the Kolkata airport. Earlier, SpiceJet had already completed a test flight successfully from Kolkata airport to Pakyong airport carrying officials of DGCA on 10th of March this year in its 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8-Q40 carrier.
If the Pakyong airport gets functional this month, it will be the 100th operational airport in India. Sikkim is the only state in India with no commercial airport yet. People use the Bagdogra airport in West Bengal to reach Sikkim. The Bagdogra airport is around 125 km from Gangtok and takes around four and half hour to reach by road. With direct flight connectivity, the economic growth of Sikkim will improve significantly as tourism and other industry will get a good boost.
