Itanagar, July 17 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wedesday requested Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to increase flight connectivity to and from Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar for improvement of quality of life of citizens, tourism and commerce in the state.
In a letter to Naidu, Khandu pointed out that as of now, one flight each is being operated to and from Donyi Polo Airport to Kolkata (6 times a week) and New Delhi (4 times a week).
These flights, he said, are regularly operating at complete capacity, often leading to immense surges in travel fares and unavailability of tickets for prospective passengers, including in cases of medical and other exigencies. Also, the absence of daily flight operations hampers ease of access for visitors, tourists, etc often forcing them to seek other travel options.
The Chief Minister further pointed out that connectivity options through connecting flights to other major cities from the Kolkata and New Delhi airports is poor, causing long layovers for passengers.
He also lamented the discontinuation of flight services between Itanagar and Guwahati operated by FlyBig under the UDAN scheme since November 2023.
Khandu appealed to Union Minister to increase flight services from Itanagar to New Delhi and Kolkata, preferably including an additional morning departure from Itanagar to New Delhi, daily operations of flights from Itanagar to New Delhi, direct flight connectivity to other major metros such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc, and reinstating flight services between Itanagar and Guwahati under the RCS-UDAN scheme.
In another letter to Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe Aviation Limited (IndiGo), the Chief Minister sought an increase in the number of flights to Delhi, preferably a morning departure flight from Itanagar. He also requested for direct flight connectivity from Itanagar to other major metros such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc.
Expressing gratitude to IndiGo for operating the first flight from the Donyi Polo Airport, and for connecting Itanagar to Kolkata and New Delhi through regular flights, Khandu said that the initiation has been of immense comfort and convenience to people of Arunachal Pradesh and other States, tourists, students and others.
He informed that the State’s Civil Aviation department has already been instructed to provide all necessary support to IndiGo for the enhancement and extension of flight services.
It may be noted that IndiGo has announced to operate flight services between Itanagar and Kolkata 7 days a week starting July 31. Currently there’s no flight service on the route on Wednesdays.
