Flights Itanagar

Itanagar, Nov 17: IndiGo is ready to launch flights to Donyi Polo Airport at Hollangi near to Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh later this month.

The airport became one of the fastest projects to be evolved despite the fact that time became misplaced because of the pandemic after the inspiration stone became laid in February 2019.

The airport became slated to be the handiest airport in Arunachal Pradesh, hitherto serviced from Dibrugarh in neighbouring Assam, but things took a positive turn. India’s easternmost nation now has flights to Ziro, Tezu, and Pasighat. The emergence of a couple of airports withinside the northeast is a sworn statement of how a focal point in the vicinity has aided its connectivity.

First was the increased focus of the government on northeast connectivity. Secondly, airlines were required to fly to the northeast and other poorly connected regions in compliance with the Route Dispersal Guidelines.

Thirdly, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN), which might not have been extraordinarily successful, has certainly helped operationalize new airports and routes.

As matters stand today, the seven sister states of the northeast have airports at Agartala, Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro, Hollangi (beginning soon), Rupsi, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar, Tezpur, Imphal, Shillong, Dimapur, and Aizawl. With the addition of Hollangi, there can be one hundred and one operational airports in India, with sixteen withinside the northeast to serve 4.5% of the country’s population.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu shared the news on Twitter and wrote “It’s so satisfying and fulfilling to see IndiGo flight making a successful test landing at Donyi Polo airport. Ensuring better connectivity to our people is a top priority of my government. Rest assured we’ll ensure we’ve many more flights from Itanagar.”

What caused this spurt?

Northeast India has continually been taken into consideration as a strategic part of the country. Additionally, as the region moves away from insurgency, travel rules have been relaxed and it has immense potential for tourism. But that is like a chicken-and-egg situation: does precise connectivity entice tourists, or does the influx of site visitors cause higher connectivity?


Also Read: Arunachal Pradesh CM inaugurates road to new airport

There needed to be a beginning and that got here withinside the shape of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN). Airports at Rupsi, Tezu, and Pasighat commenced operations under RCS-UDAN, whilst the ones at Jorhat, Lilabari, and Shillong were given a brand new rent of life. The Route Dispersal Guidelines mandate airways to install a positive ability to the northeast and/or Jammu and Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh. This ability is primarily based totally on how a lot they fly at the pinnacle 20 routes in the country.

This caused extra direct connections to New Delhi, rather than counting on Guwahati for one-forestall connectivity or worse, having to live in Guwahati overnight. Over the years, New Delhi, which became linked non-forestall best to Guwahati, has been linked non-forestall to Dibrugarh, Agartala, and Imphal.

What caused this? A multitude of factors. On the infrastructure side, successive nearby governments have lobbied to grow connectivity. This intended increasing runway lengths, enhancing navigation aids, and refurbish terminals.

One has to issue withinside the demanding situations of flying withinside the northeast. Inclement climate and sunsets as early as 4.30 pm in a few regions suggest it isn’t always viable to fly at some stage in the complete day and utilize a plane as one could withinside the relaxation of the country.

While the authorities have to take delivery of the credit, airways deserve extra than that. Three airways certainly stand out withinside the quest to attach the northeast. Flybig, a nearby service that began out operations at some stage in the pandemic, has the bulk of its ability withinside the northeast. While routes like Shillong-New Delhi did now no longer move as planned, it has constructed a robust community withinside the place and has connected hitherto unconnected points.

Alliance Air, the most effective authorities-owned airline withinside the country, inducted a brand new kind of made-in-India Dornier Do-228 plane for a few routes, which allowed it to begin operations to Zero and Pasighat from Dibrugarh. Inducting a brand-new plane kind comes at a massive cost, however, it’s been executed for the sake of connectivity.

IndiGo has executed something that most effective Jet Airways attempted withinside the beyond but couldn’t sustain: connecting the northeast past Guwahati at once to Delhi. This has helped passengers store each money and time with non-prevent flights to Delhi from state capitals Agartala and Imphal and critical commercial enterprise centres like Dibrugarh. IndiGo has even linked Agartala to Bengaluru with a non-prevent flight.