Rupsi Airport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of India | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Dhubri andKokrajhar | ||||||||||
| Location | Rupsi,Kokrajhar district,Assam,India | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 40 m / 131 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 26°08′28″N089°54′24″E / 26.14111°N 89.90667°E /26.14111; 89.90667 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  RUP Location of airport in Assam Show map of Assam RUP RUP (India) Show map of India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Source:AAI[1][2][3] | |||||||||||
Rupsi Airport (IATA:RUP,ICAO:VERU) is adomestic airport serving the cities ofDhubri andKokrajhar,Assam,India. It is located atRupsi, 17 km (11 mi) north from theDhubri city centre.[4] The airport serves as a way for people of the lower part of Assam to travel to India's major cities and states. It also serves as a layover for those traveling to the wildlife parks ofChakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary,Ultapani Reserve Forest andManas National Park of Assam andJaldapara National Park inAlipurduar district andBuxa Tiger Reserve ofWest Bengal.
TheRupsi Airfield was constructed by theBritish duringWorld War II to supply arms, manpower, and ammunition to theAllied forces. It was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces'Tenth Air Force in theChina-Burma-India Theater. The regional airline,Vayudoot, used to operate services to the airport in the 1980s, but withdrew services after the closure of the airline in 1984, after which theGovernment of India made unsuccessful attempts to revive the airport with the joint initiative of theMinistry of Civil Aviation and theNorth Eastern Council (NEC).[5] The World War II era airstrip remained defunct since 1984. TheAirports Authority of India (AAI) and theIndian Air Force (IAF) have begun work to revive the airfield since 2010s.[6] Finally, commercial operations to the airport began under the Government'sUDAN Scheme in 2021.[7]
The thenChief Minister of Assam,Sarbananda Sonowal, along withBodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Chief,Hagrama Mohilary, laid thefoundation stone of construction of the airport's terminal on 22 February 2019.[8] An estimated cost of Rs. 70 crore was spent to make the airport suitable for the operation ofATR-72 type of aircraft, including the 3,500-square-meter (38,000 sq ft) terminal building. The infrastructure for the airport was made ready by October 2019.[6] The newly launched domestic airline,FlyBig, started operations in the airport on 8 May 2021, by starting flight services toGuwahati andKolkata. In the future, other destinations from the airport will be covered. On 5 May 2021, FlyBig conducted a successful trial of its flight at the airport. The AAI and IAF will jointly develop the airport for both commercial and military operations. The IAF is also evaluating the feasibility of extending the runway to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) to enable the operation of fighter aircraft.[7]
The airport covers an area of 447 acres (181 ha) at anelevation of 131 feet (40 m) abovemean sea level. It has one pavedrunway designated 05/23, which measures 6,000 by 150 feet (1,829 m × 46 m).[4]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Alliance Air | Guwahati,[9]Kolkata |
