The number of passengers from Calcutta to Europe and the US is more than what it used to be a few years ago but there are still no direct flights to these destinations from the city.

Aviation industry experts said factors like perception about business in Bengal,
poor airport infrastructure and financial problems plaguing some of the bigger European carriers are some of the factors.

On Thursday, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a motion that called for the intervention of the Central government to ensure that international and domestic airlines operate direct flights to different cities of European countries and the US from Calcutta.

Finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who moved the motion on behalf of the government, spoke extensively about how the operation of direct international flights was essential for Bengal and the difficulties faced by fliers.

Over the past several years, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been speaking about the need for direct connectivity to Europe and the US. She had held a meeting with representatives of several international and Indian airlines but nothing has happened.

According to airport officials, Calcutta now has 23 international flights daily on average. Bengaluru airport has more than 25 international flights.

The number of international flights may almost be the same at the two airports but Bengaluru has direct connections to London, Paris, Frankfurt and San Francisco, said an official of Bengaluru International Airport Ltd.

Calcutta on the other hand has most connections to the Gulf cities like Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi along with southeast Asian destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Mumbai airport handles more than 1,000 international flights every week or around 144 daily.

“International passenger traffic is led by the Middle Eastern, Asian, and European regions. The Middle East has the highest share, accounting for 51 per cent of the total international traffic. Asia comes second, contributing 23 per cent, while Europe captures 17 per cent,” said a spokesperson for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai.

Anil Punjabi, national committee member of the Travel Agents Federation of India, representing the east, said: “Over the past two years, the state government has been discussing with the travel industry, business community and airlines how to resume direct connections to Europe. Now, there are enough passengers from Calcutta to fill up three flights a week to Europe. All these passengers go through Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Delhi and Mumbai.”

Tour operators said traders, tourists, students and those visiting family members now comprise fliers to Europe and the US from Calcutta.

“Earlier this week, too, we requested the state government to take initiatives for direct connections to Europe. The carriers to Middle East countries have maximum passengers from Calcutta as onwards to Europe and the US,” said Anjani Dhanuka, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India, eastern region.

Calcutta airport sources said Emirates, which operates 11 flights to Dubai from the city every week, has 360 seats including eight first class and 42 business class.

First class seats are usually 30 to 40 per cent full while business class seats are 80 per cent full, said airport sources said. Overall, the flights have 92 per cent occupancy.

“Of these, 80 per cent go beyond Dubai to Europe and the US,” said an official.

However, an official of an international airline said flights thrice a week are often not viable. “If passengers don’t get daily connectivity they often prefer to take other flights,” said the official.

Lufthansa had flights thrice a week between Calcutta and Frankfurt, which was withdrawn in 2012. Earlier, British Airways had withdrawn its direct flight to London because of low yields.

Air India would also operate a flight between Calcutta and London. It had resumed as Vande Bharat during the pandemic but was not continued.

Air India, now owned by the Tata group, operates three daily flights to London from Delhi and two from Mumbai.

Sources said the airline’s flight to San Francisco from Bengaluru is also doing well because of the thriving IT industry there.

“The (Bengaluru-San Francisco) flight started in 2017 and was stopped because of the pandemic. However, a couple of years back, it was reinstated. There is a good load for the return flight, too, because of the steady flow of IT industry people and their relatives,” said the source. “Filling up return flights is very important for viability.”

There is still a perception that Calcutta will be unable to provide enough business passengers, who fly regularly, to Europe and the US. “There is also the issue of filling up high-yield seats,” an aviation industry expert said.

According to an official of an international airline, some big European carriers are facing financial and other issues, which may impede expanding the network to Calcutta.

“The infrastructure of the airport and the work culture has to improve,” said an official of an airline that operates international flights out of Calcutta. “The business class lounge is not big enough and there are not enough boarding bridges.”

The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) matters, too.

According to the Indian Oil website, the ATF prices from December 1 for domestic airlines on international run is higher in Calcutta compared to Delhi and Mumbai.

The price in USD per kilolitre is 865.87 in Calcutta, 826.28 in Mumbai and 827.04 in Chennai. Aviation industry sources the difference was because of the amount of tax imposed by local governments.