History
Kolkata airport has a distinguished place in the history of aviation, traditionally serving as a strategic stopover on the air route from Europe to Indochina and Australia. Many pioneering flights passed through the airport, including that of Amelia Earhart in 1937. The airport was originally an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armoury in Dum Dum. In 1924, KLM began scheduled stops at Calcutta, as part of their Amsterdam to Batavia (Jakarta) flight The same year, a Royal Air Force aircraft landed in Calcutta as part of the first round-the-world expedition by any air force.
Sir Stanley Jackson, Governor of Bengal, opened the Bengal Flying Club at Calcutta aerodrome in February 1929. In 1930, the airfield was made fit for use throughout the year, and other airlines began to utilise the airport. Air Orient began scheduled stops as part of a Paris to Saigon route, and Imperial Airways began flights from London to Australia via Calcutta in 1933. This began a trend that drew many airlines to Calcutta airport.
Calcutta played an important role in the Second World War. In 1942, the United States Army Air Force 7th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers from the airport on combat missions over Burma. The airfield was also used as a cargo aerial port throughout the war for supplies and equipment by Air Transport Command, as well as being a communication centre for the Tenth Air Force.
Passenger services grew after the Second World War. Calcutta became a destination for the world’s first jet-powered passenger aircraft, the de Havilland Comet, on a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) route to London. Furthermore, in 1964 Indian Airlines introduced the first Indian domestic jet service, using Caravelle jets on the Calcutta–Delhi route.
Between the 1940s and 1960s, the airport was served by several major airlines including Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, KLM, Pan Am, Lufthansa, Swissair and SAS.
Due to the rise of longer haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War saw a large increase of both refugees and disease in Calcutta, causing more airlines to cease services to the city. In 1975, the airport opened the first dedicated cargo terminal in India.
In the early 1980s, plans emerged to connect the airport with the city centre by tram. The proposed route went to the airport from Maniktala, via Vivekananda Road, Ultadanga and Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue. The line was completed up to Ultodingi in 1985, but further expansion to the airport was cancelled due to financial downing of Calcutta Tramways Company. The extension proposal re-appeared in 1999, but was cancelled.
The 1990s saw new growth for Calcutta airport, as the Indian aviation industry saw the arrival of new airlines such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara. The current domestic terminal was opened in 1995, and the airport was renamed in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In 2000, a new international arrival hall was opened. Finally, 2005 saw the growth of Low Cost Carriers in the Indian aviation sector, with new airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo and Kingfisher Airlines. This led to a dramatic rise in passenger numbers at the airport.
Read more about this topic: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
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