Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia along with MoS Civil Aviation, Gen Dr Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd) on Sunday virtually inaugurated the operation of three flights connecting five cities of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram.
In his inaugural address, Jyotiraditya M Scindia congratulated the people of the region and said the inauguration of the flights was a significant step in the direction of providing air connectivity to every part of the country.
The minister further said the Union Government has given special emphasis on air connectivity for the north-eastern region with seven airports being developed in the region in the last eight years.
Under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme, 14% of the routes had been awarded to the north-east and under UDAN 4.2, about 18% of the routes have been awarded to the region, Scindia added.
A Rs 500 crore corpus has been dedicated to the air-connectivity of the northeast and 25 airports have been incentivised in the region under Krishi UDAN.
The Minister announced that under International UDAN, two new routes Agartala-Chittagong-Agartala and Imphal-Mandalay-Imphal will be operationalised which will expand the scope of air connectivity in the north-eastern states from the national to the international level.
MoS, Civil Aviation Gen Dr Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd) said that it was a matter of great pleasure that this additional air connectivity is being provided for the north-eastern region of the country. It will facilitate travel between the states, help people traveling for various purposes and contribute to the growth of the region, he added.
The flight will be operated by Alliance Air.
The flight connecting Imphal-Aizawl-Imphal under RCS UDAN will commence from 30 October and operate five times a week.
The flight connecting Shillong-Lilabari-Shillong under RCS UDAN will commence from 31 October and operate four times a week.
The flight connecting Lilabari-Ziro-Lilabari will commence from 30 October and operate two times a week.
The virtual inauguration was attended by the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, and other ministers and members of parliament from the states.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma later tweeted that the state was thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the new Shillong to Lilabari flight.
He wrote: “Giving new wings to regional air connectivity in the North East, Hon’ble Union Minister for @MoCA_GoI, @JM_Scindia Ji launched 3 new flights under UDAN.”
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh wrote on Twitter: “Happy to attend the inaugural of Imphal-Aizawal-Imphal flight operations of Alliance Air flight”.
Happy to attend the inaugural of Imphal-Aizawal-Imphal flight operations of Alliance Air flight in the presence of Hon’ble Minister, Shri @JM_Scindia ji, Hon’ble Union Minister, Shri @KirenRijiju ji, and many other esteemed dignitaries from Northeastern states. pic.twitter.com/D1Nr2n7pDd
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) October 30, 2022
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu wrote on Twitter: “Gratitude to Hon PM Shri @narendramodi ji, MoCA Shri @JM_Scindia as #Arunachal logs one more milestone to improve the ease of travel.”
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma also tweeted: “Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s vision of transformation by transportation of the North East gets yet another giant leap”.
