West Bengal will get four new airports under the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, with the facilities planned at Charra in Purulia, Kalaikunda in Paschim Medinipur, Balurghat in Dakshin Dinajpur and Hasimara in Alipurduar.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu announced the development on October 5 while speaking at a programme in Kolkata where the Civil Aviation Ministry signed an agreement with the West Bengal government for implementing the UDAN scheme in the state.
The four airports are expected to be developed over the next two years. Naidu said the Centre plans to spend ₹29,000 crore under UDAN in West Bengal over the next decade as part of efforts to strengthen regional air connectivity.
The minister also said there is a need for a second airport in Kolkata to cater to the city’s growing demand for air travel. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the state government was ready to provide land for the project and had identified around 2,000 acres at Kalyani for a proposed greenfield airport.
Adhikari also sought direct air services from Kolkata to the UK and other European destinations, along with additional flights from Andal airport in Durgapur.
The announcement of the four new airports comes even as some existing airports in the state continue to face difficulties in maintaining regular commercial services. Cooch Behar, which had resumed operations under UDAN in 2023, currently does not have a regular commercial flight service.
A nine-seater service operated by IndiaOne Air from February 2023 under a three-year UDAN agreement ended earlier this year. The state government has allocated ₹10 crore in its current budget for the expansion of Cooch Behar airport, raising the possibility of extending its runway and upgrading infrastructure to accommodate larger aircraft.
Cooch Behar currently has a 1,059-metre runway and had earlier been restricted to smaller nine-seater aircraft.
Malda has faced similar challenges. Although the state government has constructed a runway and officials from the Airports Authority of India have inspected the facility, regular commercial flight services have not started. A small-aircraft service had earlier been proposed, while helicopter operations were also briefly introduced before being discontinued.
The new airport programme is being implemented under the Modified UDAN framework, which has been approved for 10 years from FY2026-27 to FY2035-36 with a total government outlay of ₹28,840 crore. The scheme covers airport infrastructure development and revival as well as regional air connectivity to underserved and unserved areas.
West Bengal’s four-airport programme is expected to expand air connectivity beyond the state’s existing major aviation centres. The proposed locations cover different parts of the state, including the industrial and tourism regions around Purulia, the northern districts and the Dooars.
The developments also come as the state works on a separate proposal for a greenfield airport near Kalyani. The proposed facility is intended to ease pressure on Kolkata airport and strengthen connectivity in South Bengal, with around 2,000 acres identified across nine mouzas for the project.
