Air Power and India's Northeast

India’s Northeast is being connected to the rest of India as never before. With the operationalisation of Hollongi Airport in Arunachal Pradesh state's capital of Itanagar, every state in the region is now connected with the rest of India. A report on the region and its aviation potential.

The Northeast is connected by air like never before Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh which was inaugurated last month by the Prime Minister is literally like the conquest of the final frontier. The airport - one of the fastest projects to completion in three years is a remarkable feat. And mind you, three years because the Covid pandemic delayed completion by about a year.

Served at one time from Dibrugarh in neighbouring Assam, India's easternmost state now has flights from not just the state capital but from Ziro, Tezu and Pasighat. The emergence of multiple airports in the northeast is a testimony to how the focus on the region has aided its connectivity. The smaller airports all came up thanks to the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN). While hugely unsuccessful overall, what UDAN has done is help open up airports across, create new routes and allow airlines to look at the mix. Of course, the Route Dispersal Guidelines greatly helped in that airlines were forced to fly to and from that region if they had to expand and connect to the more lucrative routes elsewhere.

THERE HAD TO BE A START AND THAT CAME IN THE FORM OF THE REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME (UDAN).AIRPORTS AT RUPSI, TEZU AND PASIGHAT STARTED OPERATIONS UNDER RCS-UDAN, WHILE THOSE AT JORHAT, LILA BARI AND SHILLONG GOT A NEW LEASE OF LIFE

As the website moneycontrol said in a perceptive piece: "There had to be a start and that came in the form of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN). Airports at Rupsi, Tezu and Pasighat started operations under RCS-UDAN, while those at Jorhat, Lilabari and Shillong got a new lease on life. The Route Dispersal Guidelines mandate airlines to deploy a certain capacity to the northeast and/or Jammu and Kashmir, LehLadakh. This capacity is based on how much they fly on the top 20 routes in the country.