Cabinet declares new international airport – Which state got lucky?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his approval for declaring Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an international airport, during a cabinet meeting. Its elevation as an international airport will help the state to grow its tourism fortunes.

Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist Cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, and Lumbini. Kushinagar itself is a Buddhist cultural site.

Declaring it an international airport will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to air-travellers from Kushinagar. It will result in boosting domestic/international tourism and economic development of the region.

Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km east of Gorakhpur. It will be an important strategic location with the international border nearby.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that the elevation of the Kushinagar airport to the status of an international airport would open new avenues for the development of the Purvanchal region.

He said that the Jewar international airport would ensure air connectivity to west UP and the Kushinagar airport to the eastern part of the state. He said that the Kushinagar airport getting international status would also help in developing the Buddhist circuit which includes Kushinagar, Sarnath, Shravasti, Kapilavastu, Kaushmabhi, Sankisa, Lumbini and Bodhgaya.

The chief minister said that this would also give a major boost to international tourism. “Air travel to and from Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and other countries would be made easier,” he said.

The airport project is spread across 590 acres of land and about 95% of the work on the project has been completed.