look news india
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has recently requested British Airways to resume direct flights between London and Kolkata. Banerjee, who arrived on a UK tour, invited British companies to invest in West Bengal and held a meeting with the British High Commission officials in London. Apart from this, he has also received an invitation to deliver lectures at the University of Oxford.
Demand for London-Kolkata straight flight restoration
Mamta Banerjee expressed concern over the lack of direct flights from Kolkata during a meeting in London. They said,
“The British Airways has a humble request to my friends – can you start us a straight flight again? This service used to operate earlier, but was closed before coming to power. Now it has become very important. We will also give relief to fuel tax to those who restore flight service.”
Significantly, the British Airways shut down the Kolkata-London flight in March 2009 after operations for about 80 years. Air India also started a direct flight on this route in 2005, but had to shut down in September 2008 due to low demand.
British companies invited to invest in West Bengal
At an event organized on the topic ‘Opportunity in West Bengal’ in London, Mamata Banerjee appealed to British companies to invest in the state in green technology, smart infrastructure and clean energy sectors.
He informed that the state has received investment proposals of more than Rs 23 lakh crore at the Bengal Global Business Summit held in the last few years. He also said that Britain has been a partner country many times in this summit and there is a possibility of cooperation further.
Mamta Banerjee’s strategic initiative in Britain
This visit of Mamta Banerjee is considered an important step towards increasing international investment in the state and restoring London-Kolkata connectivity. Now it has to be seen what the British Airways react to their demand and whether the British companies come forward to find opportunities for investment in West Bengal.