First Direct Flight Operations Flagged Off From Imphal To Shillong

The Ministry Of Civil Aviation on Tuesday flagged off the first direct flight operations between Imphal (Manipur) and Shillong (Meghalaya) under the Regional Connectivity Scheme- Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN). 

The officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) were present during the launch of the flight operations.

It's been a long time since the people of the region were demanding aerial connectivity between the capital cities of Manipur and Meghalaya. As earlier there was no direct mode of transportation, people were forced to cover a long 12-hour journey by road to reach Shillong from Imphal or they had to take a flight to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, then bus service to reach Shillong. 

"The operationalization of this route fulfills the objectives of the Government of India to establish strong aerial connectivity in priority areas of NorthEast India. The completion of the entire journey took more than 1 day to reach Shillong from Imphal or vice-versa. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 60 minutes from Imphal to Shillong and 75 minutes from Shillong to Imphal," said the Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement. 

Indigo airline was granted the Imphal-Shillong 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 and accessible for the common people. 

"The airline will be operating four flights in a week and will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft. Currently, 66 UDAN routes are operational by M/S Indigo airlines," added the Ministry. 

Meanwhile, 361 routes and 59 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme, till date. The scheme is envisaged to establish strong aerial connectivity in all States and UTs of the country which until now were not connected.