Shillong, Oct 26: In a new milestone achieved in strengthening aerial connectivity in the Northeast, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia virtually flagged off the first direct flight on the Shillong – Dibrugarh route under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – UdeDeshKaAamNaagrik (RCS-UDAN) of the Government of India.
नार्थ ईस्ट क्षेत्र के प्राकृतिक अजूबे, आर्थिक व पर्यटन क्षमता को विश्व पटल पर लेकर जाना प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी और हमारा संकल्प है। इसके तहत शिलॉन्ग से डिब्रूगढ़ के बीच @IndiGo6E द्वारा नई विमान सेवाएं सप्ताह में तीन दिन की आवर्ती से आरम्भ होने जा रही हैं। 1/3 pic.twitter.com/YrJwN2Pyah
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) October 26, 2021
Grateful to Hon’ble Union Minister for @MoCA_GoI, Sh. @JM_Scindia Ji for virtually launching the Shillong-Dibrugarh flight. This is another step towards connecting NE closer, a vision at the heart of Hon’ble PM Sh. @narendramodi Ji pic.twitter.com/JJeAls7rqU
— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) October 26, 2021
MoS, Civil Aviation, General Dr V K Singh (Retd.) along with Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, Member of Parliament, Vincent Pala, among others also graced the launch event of the Shillong-Dibrugarh flight.
Addressing the event, Scindia lauds the tourism sector in the state and said, “Shillong is one of the highest & wettest places in the world. The place is important not only for the country but for the entire world. Meghalaya’s capital Shillong has always been known as Scotland of East due to the presence of rolling hills, caves, tallest waterfalls, beautiful landscapes and its rich heritage and culture. There’s nothing that Meghalaya does not have to offer. The place attracts tourists from all over the world.”
The minister further emphasized that “In 2014, only 6 airports were operational in North East which has now risen to 15 airports in 2021″.
“Within a short span of 7 years, we have achieved this ambitious target. I assure you that this is just the beginning; we are further committed to enhancing the interstate & intrastate connectivity of Northeast. Apart from promoting flight connectivity, our focus is on developing the infrastructure capabilities along with helicopter services for the last mile delivery. To ensure that we recently launched the Helicopter policy to further promote Heli Services in North-East. We want to bring the travellers from all over the country to North-East.”
Notably, Indigo was awarded the Shillong – Dibrugarh route during the UDAN 4 bidding process. The airline will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft. Till date, 389 routes and 62 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.
The aerial connectivity in Meghalaya has been a long-awaited demand of the people of the region. Shillong is surrounded by hills from all sides. Due to the non-availability of any direct mode of transportation, people were compelled to cover a long 12-hour journey by road to reach Shillong.
But with this initiative, natives now can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 75 mins from Shillong to Dibrugarh.
