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 – Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (RCS-UDAN) of the Government of India.
It can be noted that due to the non-availability of any direct mode of transportation, people were compelled to cover a long 12-hour journey by road and train to travel between Shillong and Dibrugarh. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 75 mins.
“The airline M/s Indigo was awarded the Shillong – Dibrugarh route during the UDAN 4 bidding process. The airlines are 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,” as per the information provided by Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The flight schedule is mentioned below:
1. Flight number 6E 7955 will operate from Shillong to Dibrugarh. The departure time will be 10:20 am while the arrival time will be 11:35 am.
2. Flight number 6E 7956 will operate from Dibrugarh to Shillong. The departure time will be 11:55 am while the arrival time will be 01:10 pm.
The Union Minister of Civil Aviation said, “Shillong is one of the highest and 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. 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 and intrastate connectivity of North-East.”
“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 the bring the travellers from all over the country to North-East,” he added.
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.
