Gangtok, Sikkim
News Update: 15-Sep-2018
First Airport of Sikkim awaits the inauguration since it had been successfully completed the trial of the commercial flight landing and takeoff. Finally, the Sikkim’s first airport in the Pakyong town is to be inaugurated by our honorable Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi on the 23rd of September. After the inauguration ceremony, the Prime Minister will address the public gathering near the airport in Pakyong. It is said that the PM will get back to Delhi on the same day. The airport is located just 30 km from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
The chief secretary of Sikkim, A K Shrivastava said, “I am very happy to share that the Hon’ble Prime Minister is visiting Sikkim for the second time and this time he will be inaugurating the Pakyong Airport, which is ready and has undergone the trial on two occasions in the month of March 2018.” He also said to the media that the state government was officially informed about the PM’s visit and airport inauguration by the PMO and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The preparation for the PM’s visit is in the full swing and the civil aviation secretary, R N Choubey will soon visit Sikkim to supervise the arrangements for the PM’s visit. The airport will allow the operation of daily commercial flights from the first week of October.
The Pakyong Airport is the first airport of the Sikkim state and the 100th commercial airport of India. The Pakyong town is nearly 30 km away from the capital and this will going to skyrocket the development of Sikkim. With the functioning of this airport in the state, the commuting time will be reduced significantly. Till now, Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal is being used to reach Gangtok which is located at the distance of around 5 hours of drive from the capital of Sikkim. It is said that the airport will benefit the tourism sector by large in Sikkim which is one of the top tourist destinations in India.
Thousands of travelers visit each year in Sikkim and the number of footfalls will be expected to increase in many folds after the operations of the daily flight from Kolkata airport to Pakyong airport. Till now, a private carrier, the SpiceJet has been given the license to operate the daily commercial flights from the Kolkata airport to Pakyong airport. Later, the SpiceJet flight route will further be extended from the Pakyong airport to the Guwahati airport.
