In what can be termed as a major boost to air connectivity in the state, the Assam Tourism Development Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Flybig to create new vistas for air connectivity between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati under non-UDAN routes.
The MoU signing ceremony was held at the Janata Bhawan in Guwahati on Saturday.
Attending the ceremony, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Today we have signed an agreement under which flight services between Guwahati-Silchar and Guwahati-Dibrugarh will be operational under non-UDAN routes. One flight will fly to Dibrugarh and Silchar from Guwahati daily.”
“We have assured better connectivity and price through this pact. Air travelers do not have to pay more than Rs 4000 for each flight. We have also decided to pay the expenses of unsold tickets to the airlines when 50 percent of the tickets do not get sold,” CM Sarma further said.
The chief minister stated that the Assam Government will try to launch more such flight services in other parts of the state soon.
Last month, a MoU was signed between Assam Tourism Development Corporation and Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) to launch helicopter services on six routes in four sectors of the state..
The PHL has been awarded 86 routes to run RCS flights under the UDAN scheme in six states. Services will be provided 3 days a week. In the first phase, the service is going to be operational on the 'Dibrugarh-Jorhat-Tezpur-Guwahati-Tezpur-Jorhat-Dibrugarh' network in Assam.
The RCS UDAN of the Ministry of Civil Aviation is giving special impetus to providing air connectivity to the remote places of the northeastern states which have inadequate rail and road connectivity.
