Kolkata airport turns 100: Journey from grass runway to global gateway
Times of India | 8 December 2024
KOLKATA: An aerodrome with a grass runway set up in the early 20th century, which saw an airline make a scheduled stop in 1924 before it became a full-fledged airport and a key stopover for flights operating between North America and Europe to South East Asia, turned 100 this year.
On December 21, Kolkata airport will kick off its centenary celebrations. These celebrations will not only trace the airport's chequered history, which includes a roller coaster ride in the mid-20th century when several major international carriers connected Kolkata with the rest of the world in the 1950s before they withdrew in the 1970s and 80s, leaving the city rather isolated on the global aviation map. However, the airport has since turned around and is now one of the key gateways to South-East Asia and the Gulf.
A proposal on the centenary celebration has been sent to the civil aviation ministry. It will include an exhibition on the airport's history, cultural events, craft fairs, charity events, blood donation camps, and a mega plantation drive.
Among those expected to attend the inauguration of the centenary celebration are CM Mamata Banerjee, civil aviation minister K R Naidu, minister of state for civil aviation Muralidhar Mohol, civil aviation secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam, and Airports Authority of India chairman Vipin Kumar. State minister Firhad Hakim, Bratya Sen, and MPs Saugata Ray and Dola Sen will also be invited.
The airport began as an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armory in Dum Dum. On May 2, 1924, French pilot Lieutenant Pilchet Doisy landed a Dakota 3 aircraft at the airport. Three days later, a Paris to Tokyo flight en route from Agra landed at the airport. The flight arrival drew a massive crowd. Again, 11 days later on May 16, another flight from Allahabad landed at this airport. Thereafter, on November 14, 1924, the airport witnessed the first night landing when a flight from Amsterdam landed at the airfield with mashaal or torches being lit up to mark the runway for the pilot.
"The years between the 1940s and 1960s saw the airport explode in popularity as a stopover hub. The airport handled flights from Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, KLM, Pan Am, Lufthansa, Swissair, and SAS on the routes from Europe to Asia," recounted Kolkata airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria.
However, the airport hit an air-pocket and experienced turbulence when the introduction of longer-haul aircraft during the 1960s did away with the need for refuelling stops. It was only post-liberalisation in the 1990s that Kolkata airport regained its prominence. A new domestic terminal was constructed in 1995, and the airport was renamed in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
"The surge in domestic passenger traffic following the advent of low-cost carriers in the early 2000s saw passenger count exceed the terminal capacity by 2005. A modernisation plan was formulated in 2007 to upgrade the facilities, which included the construction of a new integrated terminal, extension of runway, taxiways, and apron. The construction began in December 2008, and the new terminal was opened in March 2013. We are now working on the next phase of expansion," said Beuria.
While the airport's capacity is currently being increased from 2.6 crore passengers per annum to 2.8 crore, the addition of a new terminal in two phases will see the capacity increase to 3.9 crore per annum.
* Calcutta-Dum Dum Airport (now Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport) was founded in the early 1920s as the Calcutta Aerodrome.
* The 1940s to 1960s saw the airport serving as a strategic stopover on the air route from North America and Europe to South-East Asia, East Asia, and Australia. The airport handled flights from Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, KLM, Pan Am, Lufthansa, Swissair, and SAS.
* Due to the introduction of longer-haul aircraft during the 1960s, airlines stopped using Kolkata as a stopover hub, leading to a lull in flights and passengers.
* The 1990s saw the growth of the Indian aviation industry, and the airport was renamed in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. A new domestic terminal building was then constructed in 1995. But a dramatic rise in passenger numbers saw the capacity getting exhausted within a decade.
* A modernisation plan was formulated in 2007 to upgrade the facilities. Construction of a new integrated terminal building, extension of runway, taxiways, and apron began in December 2008, and the new terminal was opened in March 2013.
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