West Bengal Pushes for Direct Flight Paths to Europe and US

A motion was passed in the West Bengal assembly encouraging the Union government to facilitate direct international flights from Kolkata to Europe and the US. The state aims to promote tourism and ease travel difficulties, while opposition voices underline infrastructure and land allocation challenges.

The West Bengal assembly unanimously passed a motion on Thursday that urges the central government to attract airlines to operate direct international flights between Kolkata and destinations in Europe and the United States.

Chandrima Bhattacharya, the state minister who introduced the motion, emphasized that such collaboration between the Union and the state governments would alleviate travel inconveniences and harness tourism potential.

Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari expressed support but criticized the ruling Trinamool Congress for not providing land for airport expansions, citing issues like the delayed enhancement of NSCBI Airport's secondary runway.

(With inputs from agencies.)