Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Uttar Pradesh is set to unveil its third International Airport on Wednesday, 20 October. the Kushinagar International Airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Sri Lankan President Lt Colonel Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Uttar Pradesh already has two international airports in Lucknow and Varanasi.

The first international flight would arrive from Colombo with the Sri Lankan president and a 125-member delegation accompanying him on board, including Buddhist monks and pilgrims on the occasion. Ambassadors of various countries are also expected to participate in this ceremony.

The International Airport is spread over an area of 590 acres and is equipped with world-class facilities. Built at the cost of Rs 17.5 crore, the airport encompasses an eight-storied state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower which has become fully operational at the airport whereas the navigation system for safe landing and take-off of flights at the airport has passed the trial successfully.

A review meeting was held earlier this week by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in order to discuss the required arrangements for the inauguration ceremony of the international airport in the Kushinagar district.

The Kushinagar Airport is being looked at through an extremely potential lens and is expected to accelerate the inflow of international tourists as well as outbound tourism by 15 to 20 percent in the coming years because of its strategic location near Buddhist sites in both Uttar Pradesh and north Bihar.

Due to better connectivity, the airport will facilitate hassle-free movement of tourists from countries with considerable Buddhist populations in East Asia and South-East-Asia to the six Buddhist sites in Uttar Pradesh located in Kushinagar, Sarnath and Shravasti, as well as Buddhist sites located in north Bihar.

According to the available data, Kushinagar received 8.98 lakh, 9.3 lakh, 9.7 lakh and 10.96 lakh tourists in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. This dropped to 3.23 lakh tourists in 2020 due to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Similarly, Shravasti received 2.2 lakh, 2.58 lakh, 11.32 lakh and 12.71 lakh in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively, which dipped to mere 0.17 lakh in 2020.

“The International Airport at Kushinagar, the Mahaparinirvana site of Tathagata Gautam Buddha, will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on October 20. Ambassadors of various countries are to participate in this ceremony of international importance. A special delegation is also arriving from Sri Lanka. Keeping in line with ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, necessary preparations should be made for the grand welcome of foreign guests,” Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) statement stated.

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