Rupsi Airport

For the military use of this airport during World War II

Rupsi Airport
IATA: RUP ICAO: VERU
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of India
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Dhubri and Kokrajhar
Location	Kokrajhar district, Assam, India
Elevation AMSL	40 m / 131 ft
Coordinates	26°08′28″N 089°54′24″E
Map
RUP Location of airport in Assam Show map of Assam RUP RUP (India) Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 1,829 6,000 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 – March 2024)
Passengers 33,257 ( 9.1%) Aircraft movements 716 ( 33.5%) Cargo tonnage —
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

For the military use of this airport during World War II, see Rupsi airport.

, see Rupsi Airport (disambiguation).

Rupshi Airport (IATA: RUP, ICAO: VERU) is a domestic airport serving the city of Kokrajhar and Dhubri, Assam, India. It is located at Rupsi, 17 km (11 mi) north from the city centre.^[4] The airport serves as a way for people of the lower part of Assam to travel to India's major cities and states. It also serves as a layover for those traveling to the wildlife parks of Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Ultapani Reserve Forest and Manas National Park of Assam and Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district and Buxa Tiger Reserve of West Bengal. The place has a historical significance as it was the first capital of Koch Hajo Kingdom (1581-1612AD). Koch King Raghudev Narayan and Parikshit Narayan ruled the kingdom from here till 1612 AD.

History

Rupsi zamindar Jagdindra Narayan Chowdhury donated 5700 bigha plantation area to the British during 1927-28 and an airstrip (air field) was built about 9 years later (1939) by an American company. The highlight of the airstrip was the pocket-type brick houses in the middle of the jungle where fighter jets were hidden. Characteristic of Rupsi Airport was that there were 52 air strips. The Airport was named as “Rupshi Airport”, after the wife of Zamindar Jagdindra Narayan Chowdhury, "Ruposhi Devi". Rupsi Airport was handed over to the Government of India when the state of Koch Bihar joined Union of India under the India-Koch Bihar Merger Agreement of 28th August, 1949.

The Rupsi Airfield was constructed by the British during World War II to supply arms, manpower, and ammunition to the Allied forces. It was used by the United States Army Air Forces' Tenth Air Force in the China-Burma-India Theater. The regional airline, Vayudoot, used to operate services to the airport in the 1980s, but withdrew services after the closure of the airline in 1984, after which the Government of India made unsuccessful attempts to revive the airport with the joint initiative of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the North Eastern Council (NEC).^[5] The World War II era airstrip remained defunct since 1984. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have begun work to revive the airfield since 2010s.^[6] Finally, commercial operations to the airport began under the Government's UDAN Scheme in 2021.^[7]

The then Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, along with Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Chief, Hagrama Mohilary, laid the foundation stone of construction of the airport's terminal on 22 February 2019.^[8] An estimated cost of Rs. 70 crore was spent to make the airport suitable for the operation of ATR-72 type of aircraft, including the 3,500-square-meter (38,000 sq ft) terminal building. The infrastructure for the airport was made ready by October 2019.^[6] The newly launched domestic airline, FlyBig, started operations in the airport on 8 May 2021, by starting flight services to Guwahati and Kolkata. In the future, other destinations from the airport will be covered. On 5 May 2021, FlyBig conducted a successful trial of its flight at the airport. The AAI and IAF will jointly develop the airport for both commercial and military operations. The IAF is also evaluating the feasibility of extending the runway to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to enable the operation of fighter aircraft.^[7]

Facilities

The airport covers an area of 447 acres (181 ha) at an elevation of 131 feet (40 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway designated 05/23, which measures 6,000 by 150 feet (1,829 m × 46 m).^[4]

Airlines and destinations

As of June 2024, there are no flights to and from the airport, due to FlyBig's technical issues, which was the sole airline of the airport that suspended operations in parts of Northeast India in November 2023. The airport is expected to resume operations from June/July 2024 after the opening of a new Guwahati-based airline, Jettwings, which will begin flights from Guwahati to Kolkata via a stop in Rupsi.^[9][10] In June 2024, Alliance Air announced to restart the airport's commercial operations from 19 June 2024, by reinstating flights to Guwahati and Kolkata with a stop at Rupsi.^[11]

Airlines	Destinations
Alliance Air	Guwahati, Kolkata[11][12]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at RUP airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

• Dibrugarh Airport
• Lilabari Airport
• Silchar Airport
• Tezpur Airport

References

1. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
2. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
3. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
4. Rupsi Airport at Airports Authority of India
5. "Centre nod to reopen Rupshi Airport". The Telegraph (Calcutta). 27 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
6. "Bengal hope soars on Assam airport". The Telegraph (Calcutta). 27 October 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
7. "Work to revive Rupsi airport begins". The Assam Tribune. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
8. "Sonowal lays foundation for revival of World War II-era Rupsi airport". The Shillong Times. 22 February 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
9. Jain, Hani (16 November 2023). "Flybig Halts Northeast Operations: Regional Connectivity Takes a Hit". News8 Northeast. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
10. Velani, Bhavya (6 March 2024). "JettWings to Fly on 12 New UDAN Sectors, Eyes 42 Aircraft and More". Aviation A2Z. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
11. "Flight Schedule". Alliance Air. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
12. "Route Map". Flybig Airlines. Retrieved 25 August 2024.