Guwahati: The Rupsi airport located at Kokrajhar district of Assam is all set to begin operations under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) from January 2021.
The airport was re-developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of Rs 69 crore. It has also received its operating license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The airport will cater to the need of air travellers from four districts of lower Assam namely Dhubri, Kokarajhar, Bongaigaon, and Goalpara as well as neighbouring states like West Bengal, Meghalaya, and also some parts of Bhutan.
The airport is one of India’s newest in RCS route which will be providing direct connectivity to cities like Guwahati in Assam and Kolkata in West Bengal.
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The Rupsi Airfield was constructed by the British during World War II to supply arms, manpower and ammunition to the Allied forces. The United States Air Force used it for support in China and Burma.
Regional airline Vayudoot operated in the 1980s but stopped service in 1984.
Built-in an area of about 337 acres, the airport is situated at a distance of 20 kilometres from Dhubri town. It has a newly constructed terminal building with an area of 3,500 square meters. It has ten check-in counters and a terminal equipped to process 200 passengers during peak hours. The newly built runway is suitable for landing ATR-72 type of aircraft.
DGCA India
The airport has a new terminal building, ATC tower and security hut. The project also undertook development of airside facilities like strengthening and re-carpeting of runway, taxiway, apron and including a car park. The airport’s car parking area is facing the city and can accommodate a hundred cars at once.
The airport has also installed a rainwater harvesting system, solid waste management system along with featuring horticulture activities in the airport area.
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