Panel to study status of NE aviation

New Delhi: Faced with protest over poor air services in the North-East, a Parliamentary Panel has decided to tour the region to take stock of the state-of-affairs. At a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rajya Sabha MP, Thomas A Sangma raised the issue of pathetic air services in the North-East and the plight of the air passengers.
The meeting chaired by Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel saw the Rajya Sabha MP from Meghalaya refer to the condition of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport. The Guwahati Airport has been declared as an international airport, but there are no international flights out of it, sources said.
Following the intervention by the Member, the Committee decided to visit the region to ascertain the status of the civil aviation in the region.
About 285 flights a week operated out of the North-East. The region currently has 22 airports out of which 11 are non-operational. However, the airports across the region have witnessed a massive growth rate of passengers. Passenger traffic, which stood at 11.9 per cent in 2005-2006 increased to 40.2 per cent in 2007. The North Eastern Council’s (NEC) recent attempts to finalise a dedicated airways for the region suffered a serious setback after all three bids by air operators were rejected. However the Civil Aviation Ministry has granted initial NOC to Sky King Aviation, Surya Air and ZAV Air to operate a scheduled regional air transport services.
11/08/08 Assam Tribune

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2008, Regional Airlines Aug 2008