Patna: There's good news for fliers.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to start 24-hour operations at Patna's Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) Airport from March 25, when the number of flights is expected to go up to 49.

At present, scheduled flights operate for less than 12 hours at the airport, even as the air traffic control watch hour is for 12 hours, beginning from 9.30am.

Given the increase in number of flights and passengers, Patna, the 16th busiest airport in India, will only get busier.

'The round-the-clock service will allow night operations as well, from 10pm to 6am, thereby reducing daytime air traffic," JPNI director RS Lahouria said. "Most of the arrangements for night landing at the airport here have been completed."

An airport official said private airlines are showing keen interest in operating flights from Patna airport at night and that the airlines concerned may add late night flights as well to their daily quotas.

A safety inspection team from airlines is also expected to conduct safety checks in the days to come.

"At present we have almost 36 flights operating to and from the airport," Lahouria said. "Once night landing sets in, it will further increase the number of flights. The night-landing option is most apt for "summer schedule" as that is when number of flights to Patna increases.

The number of flights operational from Patna airport was a meagre 10 in 2010.

Experts attribute the rise in the number of flights from Patna to growth in passenger flow.

Patna airport registered 32.4 per cent growth in passenger flow in 2015-16, compared to 14.5 per cent in the previous fiscal (2014-15).

Meanwhile, tourism stakeholders have welcomed the initiative for night landing and hoped it will also provide a boost to tourist influx. A tour and travel operator from Rajendranagar said: "The evening flights, especially during summer months, will help to ease out air traffic. "At present foreign tourists, after travelling to Delhi, have to spend time there overnight but evening flights will ensure they come back the same day. We are keen that late evening flights kick-start as soon as possible. This will provide more opportunities for weekend travellers to visit here and set off for places like Bodh Gaya and Vaishali and go back home the same day," he said.