Manmohan Singh

Siliguri, May 16: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be making a stopover at Bagdogra Airport tomorrow on his way back from Bhutan. He will halt for about 30 minutes when the Airbus 319 carrying him would be refuelled.

“It is basically a technical landing. The runway at Paro (in Bhutan) is not long enough for the aircraft to take off with a full load of fuel for the flight back to Delhi,” said Bagdogra airport director K.K. Bhaumik.

Hence the stopover, which will also be utilised by Singh to hold a news conference for journalists accompanying him from Delhi. The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Bhutan, the youngest democracy in the world, and is the first foreign leader to do so after elections were held there in March.

Singh will be commissioning the 1,020mw Tala hydel project and lay the foundation stone of another 1,095mw Punatsangchhu hydel project tomorrow, as well as address the new members of the Bhutan Parliament.

A second Airbus following the Prime Minister’s aircraft will be carrying the delegates and the journalists. Both the aeroplanes will be parked on the Indian Air Force side of the airfield. Singh will be holding the news conference at a hall off the tarmac, airport sources said.

The aircraft are expected to land around 4pm and take off at 4.35pm. But strict security measures, supervised by the Special Protection Group, will be in force throughout the day. “Visitors’ entry tickets will be closed for the day, while passengers will have to alight at the car parking area instead of the terminal building,” Bhaumik said.

Two Spicejet flights have been rescheduled as well. The SG-881 Bagdogra-Delhi will leave at 2.55pm instead of 3.55pm, while SG-324 Bagdogra-Calcutta will leave at 5.35pm instead of 4.15pm.