Guwahati: A wartime airstrip laid 66 years ago helped Arunachal Pradesh create history on Monday by becoming the last of the eight northeastern States to be on India’s commercial flight service map.
Pasighat Airport, too, made it to the record books — as India’s easternmost airport with civilian operations — when an Alliance Air flight touched down at 2.30 p.m. from Kolkata via Guwahati carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and other passengers.
Pasighat, about 570 km northeast of Guwahati, is the headquarters of East Siang district and the State’s oldest city. The airport is roughly on 95.33°E Longitude while Mohanbarie Airport near Dibrugarh in adjoining Assam, hitherto the easternmost civilian airport, is on 94.91°E longitude.
“Today’s a historic day, ending our long wait for fixed-wing flights. This flight service also underlines the focus of our government on providing air and road connectivity to the remotest parts of Arunachal Pradesh,” Mr. Khandu said, after alighting from the 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft.
The Alliance Air flight took off a couple of hours later for Kolkata. Officials of Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, said the near-full flight holds promise for the thrice-a-week service on the Kolkata-Guwahati-Pasighat circuit introduced under UDAN, the regional air connectivity scheme.
21/05/18 Rahul Karmakar/The Hindu
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Pasighat Airport, too, made it to the record books — as India’s easternmost airport with civilian operations — when an Alliance Air flight touched down at 2.30 p.m. from Kolkata via Guwahati carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and other passengers.
Pasighat, about 570 km northeast of Guwahati, is the headquarters of East Siang district and the State’s oldest city. The airport is roughly on 95.33°E Longitude while Mohanbarie Airport near Dibrugarh in adjoining Assam, hitherto the easternmost civilian airport, is on 94.91°E longitude.
“Today’s a historic day, ending our long wait for fixed-wing flights. This flight service also underlines the focus of our government on providing air and road connectivity to the remotest parts of Arunachal Pradesh,” Mr. Khandu said, after alighting from the 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft.
The Alliance Air flight took off a couple of hours later for Kolkata. Officials of Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, said the near-full flight holds promise for the thrice-a-week service on the Kolkata-Guwahati-Pasighat circuit introduced under UDAN, the regional air connectivity scheme.
21/05/18 Rahul Karmakar/The Hindu
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