Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Only in ANI: Civilians fly in a defence aircraft

Port Blair: In a landmark move introduced for the first time in the country, the Dornier aircraft services of the Andaman and Nicobar Command has benefited more than 6000 passengers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) since its launch in 2016. Meant solely for use of defence forces, IAF aircraft fly civilians only during cases of emergency, but this is an exception. After approval by the Ministry of Defence, the Andaman and Nicobar Command in collaboration with the UT Administration launched the Dornier 228 aircraft services in August 2016 between Port Blair, Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay. With over 665 sorties carried out till date, the imitative has benefited thousands of islanders, including patients in the southern group of islands.
As per records of the Tri-Services Command, around 6206 civilians have availed the Dornier services for inter-island travel since 2016. More than 665 sorties have been carried out by IAF’s Dornier 228 aircraft till date for civilian services. The Department of Civil Aviation put the figures at 6000. “Approximately 6000 passengers have been benefited by the Dornier services of the armed forces in the southern group. With a passenger capacity of 10, around 312 trips were carried out between Port Blair-Car Nicobar-Campbell Bay. Besides, 4 helicopters of Pawan Hans operating in different sectors have contributed significantly in providing air connectivity in these Islands. Plans are afoot to augment air services under the UDAAN scheme launched by the Union Government recently,” said a senior official of the Civil Aviation Department.
18/09/18 Roopa Lall/Echo of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

0 comments:

Post a Comment