New Delhi/ Guwahati, May 23 : The civil aviation ministry has agreed in principle to develop Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal and Dibrugarh airports in North-East as regional hubs. To begin with, the related works for developing regional hub at Guwahati is expected to start in June.
The ministry has also agreed to the demand of ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) to increase flights to Lilabari and Tezpur airports in Assam, which are close to Arunachal Pradesh’s capital Itanagar.
“The Regional Hub for civil aviation at Guwahati has been a three decade old demand of the people of the region and I thank Mr. Ravi (civil aviation minister) for addressing this issue. I am hopeful that Guwahati will start functioning as a regional hub very soon,” BK Handique, DoNER minister said.
The foundation stone for the regional hub in Guwahati is expected to be laid soon in the presence of Handique and Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi. This will help in night parking of aircrafts at Guwahati and early morning operations to the interiors of the region. Both the ministries have also agreed to establish a composite training school for ground level staff for navigation and aircraft maintenance at Lilabari, Assam. Land has alreadybeen acquired by Assam government and the project will be funded by North Eastern Council (NEC).
Following the tragic helicopter crash of April 30, which claimed the life of then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, Dorjee Khandu, along with four others, the helicopter service in the mountainous state was suspended. In the wake of the suspension of helicopter service, Handique had written on May 5 to Vayalar Ravi, civil aviation minister, to introduce more flights to airports which are close to Itanagar (Itanagar does not have any airport).
At a meeting held on Friday in New Delhi between Handique and Ravi, both discussed issues relating to civil aviation in the North-Eastern Region like, improving connectivity in the region, air safety regulations and facilities, development of new regional hubs, among others.
Following the meeting, the civil aviation ministry has agreed to introduce new flights to Lilabari and Tezpur airports. Lilabari airport will now have 5 daily flights, connecting Kolkata and Guwahati. Similarly, Tezpur too will have 5 daily flights to Guwahati and Jorhat and one weekly flight to Silchar and Kolkata.
“This 5 day a week frequency connecting Guwahati and Kolkata to Lilabari and Tezpur will give some connectivity to the people of Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern and western parts of the state for the time being,” Handique welcoming the decision of civil aviation ministry.
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