Air routes between Dimapur and Shillong gets approval

August 28, 2020 154 Views No Comment

• Civil Aviation ministry approves 78 new routes
• Focus on NE, hilly states
• Dimapur Airport official welcomes approval

Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 27

Nagaland has once again bagged new routes under the fourth phase of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN).

Following three successful rounds of bidding by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), 78 new routes under the 4th round of RCS-UDAN have been approved.

Dimapur-Shillong and Shillong-Dimapur RCS routes were among the list of approved routes.

According to a PIB report, North Eastern region, hilly states and islands have been given priority in the approval process for the new routes. The 4th round of UDAN was launched in December 2019.

Special boost is being given to connectivity in North East with routes from Guwahati to Tezu, Rupsi, Tezpur, Passighat, Misa and Shillong.

This will further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country, it stated.

So far, 766 routes have been sanctioned under the UDAN scheme.

The airports that had already been developed by AAI are given higher priority for the award of VGF (Viability Gap Funding) under the Scheme. The VGF is a cash-payout to airlines to subsidize seats.

Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopter and seaplanes is also been incorporated. 29 served, 08 unserved (including 2 heliports and 1 water aerodrome), and 2 underserved airports have been included in the list for approved routes.

Since its inception, MoCA has operationalized 274 UDAN routes that have connected 45 airports and 3 heliports, the report said.

Will it take flight?
Speaking to The Morung Express, Dimapur Airport Director Mughavi Zhimo welcomed the approval of the new routes in the latest round.

He expressed optimism that the passengers will benefit from the addition.

While the details of which airline operator had won the bid for the routes was yet to be ascertained, the Director said, “I am very hopeful that the flight operation will run well.”

Though the frequency of flights in these routes are also not known at present, the flights operating regularly and on time, reduction of cancellation incidents etc would help in boosting the confidence of the passengers, Zhimo added.

The latest phase of RCS-UDAN promises to provide ‘major boost to connectivity in North East’, under which the Shillong-Dimapur and Dimapur-Shillong routes are also included.

However, the variation between awarding of route and the materialization of flight operation is worth noting.

It was earlier reported that out of the 32 awarded routes in the Northeast, only 7 were operational under RCS-UDAN 3. Nagaland routes did not figure in the list prior to that.

Nagaland was also among the states where two airports were approved under the third round of the scheme, as per earlier reports.

According to sources, while a bidder had won the rights to operate for the Dimapur-Shillong route in the third round of the RCS-UDAN, the flight could not materialize. Low number of passengers was reportedly one of the reasons for discontinuing the services.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, flight operations have been affected and with the ensuing travel restrictions, flight frequency has also been limited.

It remains to be seen whether the additional routes for Nagaland, their operation and overall performance will be as intended.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/air-routes-between-dimapur-and-shillong-gets-approval