Second-day flight grounded - Airport officials cite lack of passengers for cancellation

The Cooch Behar-Calcutta flight was cancelled the day after it was launched apparently because of lack of bookings, raising doubts about the sustainability of the service. Northeast Shuttles, which operates the 18-seat Dornier on the Guwahati-Cooch Behar-Calcutta route, however, blamed Tuesday’s cancellation on infrastructure problems. “The flight did not operate because of some infrastructure problems at both Cooch Behar and Calcutta airports. There is also a baggage handling hitch at Cooch Behar,” said Roshan Kumar Subedi, the sales and reservation manager of the Guwahati-based airline. “The service will resume on Thursday (Wednesday and Sunday are off-days on the flight roster),” he added. “There may be more cancellations this week but the service will be regular from next week.” Airport sources, however, linked the cancellation to lack of passengers. Prasun Kanti Bardhan, the Cooch Behar-based ticketing agent of the airline, failed to sell a single for Tuesday’s Calcutta-bound flight. “The inquiries for the next few days, too, are poor, though the October tickets have mostly been sold.” Officials at Calcutta airport said there were no bookings for the return flight, too. “Lack of passengers prompted the cancellation of the day’s flight,” said an official unwilling to be named. Airport officials also pointed at another problem faced by the airline. “One of the two Dornier aircraft of Northeast Shuttles suffered a snag at Aizwal airport a few months ago and has been grounded since. The airline has to operate with only one aircraft,” said an official. Cooch Behar residents are keeping fingers crossed on the fate of the flight they had been waiting for so long following the cancellation on the second day of operation. “To sustain the service the airline needs to gain confidence of north Bengal residents. Uninterrupted operation is the only way to win confidence,” said a Cooch Behar-based businessman. The state government on Tuesday asked the airline to scout for a booking agent in the city and start Internet booking immediately. “We have told the operator to address some of the teething problems. The airline has assured us that it would arrange a bus to ferry passengers from the terminal to the plane and back at Calcutta airport by Friday,” said transport secretary B.P. Gopalika.