The Mamata Banerjee government has initiated a process to start commercial flights between Kalaikunda in West Midnapore and Calcutta.

Sources said a detailed proposal for the air link to the air force town, around 135km from Calcutta, had been drawn up and sent to the ministry of defence for clearance. The civil aviation bosses in New Delhi have sought a report from the air force base in Kalaikunda.

Senior commanding officers of the air force in Kalaikunda said they had told the directorate general of civil aviation that commercial operations using the air base in Kalaikunda would not impede their basic operations.

“The proposal is at an advanced stage and we would need to just make a few changes to ensure flying activities,” said a senior air force commanding officer at Kalaikunda.

“The runway is long enough and we need to build two gates to allow entry and exit of all connected with commercial operations.”