New Delhi [India]June 1 (ANI): In another boost to Assam’s civil aviation sector, a new Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati flight service was flagged off on Thursday in partnership with operator Flybig.
The first flight to Silchar, a major city in the state which is over 300 km from the capital city, had a total of 63 passengers against its capacity of 72.
Tourism Minister Jayant Mallabarua said that as per the agreement, these flight services would be executed on non-flying routes and would have a far-reaching impact on the tourism industry by improving intra-state connectivity.
“ATDCL (Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited) will support Flybig through Viability Gap Funding and the weekly operation of flights in both the sectors will be decided mutually by both the parties. These flights will follow the schedule of operations from Guwahati to Silchar at 7.30 am and its return journey from Silchar at 8.30 am daily,” the minister tweeted after flagging off the flight.
Last month also Flybig flight service was started from Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati.
The Assam government signed an MoU with Big Charter Pvt Ltd (or FlyBig) in March this year. Under the signed understanding, it was decided to operate flights on daily basis between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati routes.
There are a total of six to seven operational airports in Assam.
While the flight operations will be in line with the Centre’s UDAN scheme, the state government will provide viability gap funding to the operator. The services will provide assured connectivity and assured price as the agreement decided to cap the pricing to a maximum of Rs 4,000 per person, and any additional cost will be borne by the state.
Notably, the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), the flagship program of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has meanwhile completed five years. The first flight was launched in April 2017.
The scheme was launched in October 2016 with an aim to fulfill the aspirations of the common citizen to have better aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in Tier II and Tier III cities.
The government has approved the scheme ‘Revitalization of Unserved and Underutilized Airports’ for the revival and development of 100 unserved and underutilized airports, helipads and water airports by 2024.
This is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations or stations and routes. (ANI)
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