As a part of the UDAN scheme, Civil Aviation Ministry will be opening 92 new air routes in the Northeastern belt of India. The round two of this regional connectivity project will include better flight services in airports including Moreh in Manipur, Rupsi in Assam, and Tura in Meghalaya. UDAN is a government initiative that aims to connect India’s under-served and unserved airports to larger metros; and also make air travel affordable to the common people.
Following the air network scheme, Air India will be operating direct bi-weekly flights between Delhi and Imphal, from January next year. Low cost carrier IndiGo Airlines will run air services from Guwahati to Silchar and Aizwal. In addition, SpiceJet will be purchasing seaplanes that can accommodate around ten passengers and land on smaller airstrips.
Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation says, ”Nineteen new airports and seven heliports are going to be added to the aviation network through UDAN round 2. The bidding processes are underway.” He also added that the construction of the Pakyong airport in Sikkim was complete and it will help in boosting air connectivity in the North East. civilaviation.gov.in
Sanchita Nambiar
