Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to launch maiden Dibrugarh-Pasighat flight on Tuesday

In a bid to boost air connectivity of the North Eastern Region with the rest of the country, Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, will inaugurate the first flight from Dibrugarh to Pasighat on Tuesday under the scheme "Providing air connectivity and aviation infrastructure in North Eastern Region (NER)", as per a press release by Ministry of Civil Aviation.

He will also inaugurate the First Flying Training Organisation for North Eastern Region at Lilabari.

"As a part of this scheme, two important developments will take place on 12th April 2022 -First flight of Made in India HAL Dornier Do-228 from Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh. Alliance Air will be India's first commercial airline to fly Indian made aircraft for civil operations. There will also be the inauguration of First FTO (Flying Training Organization) for North Eastern Region at Lilabari, Assam," read the release.

The Ministry said that to enhance the connectivity, new airports are getting developed and old airports are getting upgraded. Considering the hilly terrain, helicopter operations under the UDAN scheme have been given the focus on connectivity.

"The development of the North Eastern Region (NER) is not only of strategic importance but is also part of India's growth story. Connectivity in NER is very essential and Under "Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)", the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has identified NER as a priority area. This has helped in enhancing inter and intra connectivity for the NER," it said.

The 17-seater non-pressurized Dornier 228 with an AC cabin capable of day and night operations will facilitate regional connectivity in northeastern states. On April 7, these two light transport aircraft were handed over to Alliance Air.

Besides the Civil Aviation Minister, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, will be present at the inauguration ceremony. Apart from them, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rajiv Bansal, Usha Padhee and Amber Dubey, Joint Secretaries from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other dignities from the State Governments of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Alliance Air will also be present.

( With inputs from ANI )