Agartala, Aug 23 (PTI) The Tripura government on Tuesday approved a proposal of providing Viable Gap Funding (VGF) for introducing international flight service between Agartala and Chittagong route, said a minister. The VGF is meant for mitigating the revenue shortfall of the airline company which will introduce the flight service between two destinations. "The Council of Ministers today approved a proposal for providing Viable Gap Funding (VGF) for the airline company which will provide the first international flight service from MBB Airport to Chittagong", Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said. In the initial stage, the flight service will be available three days a week and the fare will be Rs 4,500 per passenger, he said. The state will have to pay Rs 15 crore for VGF annually. The estimated flight time between MBB Airport and Chittagong is 43 minutes. "Initially, the passengers will be less and the fare has been fixed at Rs 4,500 keeping in mind that the flight occupancy will be around 50 per cent”, he said, adding the VGF will be provided to the airline to bridge up the shortfall in revenue since no airline company will be willing to render service in loss. The service will be available under UDAN, a regional connectivity plan launched by the Union government. Terming Tuesday’s decision as historic, Chowdhury said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to introduce flight service from MBB Airport as early as possible when the newly built terminal building was inaugurated on January 15. The new airport which is capable of handling 1,500 passengers during peak hours, has separate part for handling international passengers."The decision to introduce international flight service from Agartala to Chittagong was yet another benefit of the double-engine government", he said. PTI PS RG RG