Calcutta, May 8: Mamata Banerjee today announced that an Air India subsidiary is scheduled to start commercial operations from Andal airport from May 18, but several private operators said there were not enough passengers to attract them.

"The Air India flight (AI-9713) will take off from Calcutta at 5pm and land at Andal airport at 5.45pm daily. The return flight (AI-9714) will take off from Andal at 6.05pm and reach Calcutta at 6.50pm. The minimum fare of the flight will be Rs 2,500. With this flight, the state will get a new airport," the chief minister said today.

Air India officials said its subsidiary, Alliance Air, would operate a 45-seater ATR aircraft. "It'll be a daily operation from May 18. We are fully geared up to start operations," the official said.

Mamata announced that Pinnacle Air, a non-scheduled airline that also operates chartered flights, would fly a small aircraft between Calcutta and Cooch Behar via Andal and Bagdogra.

"This flight will also start from May 18.... From Andal, Cooch Behar and Bagdogra, flight operations can help services to the Northeast and Bangladesh," Mamata said.

Some major private airlines said they were not looking at Andal at this moment because of non-viability.

Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL), the developers of Andal airport, had recently received clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to operate flights. The airport missed four deadlines because of infrastructure problems such as removing electricity towers near the runway.

"BAPL is in talks with us. But the Calcutta-Andal route is not feasible now. We are looking at other routes such as Delhi-Andal-Calcutta but that is at a nascent stage," an official of a low-cost airline said.

Aviation experts said that for an airline like IndiGo, which operates 180-seater A-320 aircraft, 70 to 80 per cent passenger occupancy was needed over a period of time to break even.

"But to get that many passengers from Andal looks difficult. Most airlines don't have small aircraft like the ATR," an official of a private airline said. Jet Airways operates ATR aircraft but airline sources said it was not considering the Calcutta-Andal route.

Experts said to make an airport self-sustainable, the township where it is located and the catchment areas should have enough business passengers. Such passengers are the lifeblood of any airline because they ensure year-long occupancy of seats. Moreover, business travellers are not price-sensitive and therefore, high-yield seats can be sold, which makes a route profitable.

"The Calcutta-Andal route is commercially challenging for any private airline," said Captain Sarvesh Gupta, the chairman of the Airline Operators' Committee, Calcutta airport.

The chief minister today announced that the government would waive sales tax on aviation turbine fuel for five years to make Andal airport a lucrative destination.

Senior government officials said BAPL had decided to give 25 per cent concession on tickets to students from Asansol, Durgapur, Jungle Mahal and Santiniketan. The facility would also be extended to patients in Jungle Mahal and family members of landlosers.