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) scheme.
“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. 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,” Scindia said.
Scindia highlighted that in 2014 only 6 airports were operational in the North East, which has now risen to 15 airports in 2021. “This is just the beginning, we are further committed to enhancing the interstate & intrastate connectivity of North East. We want the bring the travellers from all over the country to North-East,” the minister added.
Earlier, there was no direct mode of transportation available due to which people had to cover a long 12-hour journey by road & train to travel between Shillong & Dibrugarh. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 75 mins.
IndiGo was awarded the Shillong – Dibrugarh route during the UDAN 4 bidding process & is being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the UDAN scheme to keep the fares affordable & accessible for the common people. 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 scheme is envisaged to establish strong aerial connectivity in all States and UTs of the country which hitherto were not connected, laying the foundation of a new regional segment in India’s aviation market.
