From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Airports Authority of India (AAI) will focus on improving inter-state air connectivity in the Northeast besides starting international flights from more airports in the region.
Speaking to the media here on Monday, AAI regional executive director, Sanjeev Jindal, said the aviation sector in the Northeast had grown well in 2019 with the launch of more flights from Guwahati to other airports in the region.
“The emphasis this year would be more on improving inter-state air connectivity in the region while also enhancing global connectivity with more airports in the Northeast. The year 2020 will also witness more aviation growth with world-class facilities. We plan to inaugurate at least two to three developed airports in the region this year,” Jindal said.
“Greenfield (new project) airports are being developed at Holongi (Arunachal) and Silchar (Assam). Almost all the airports in Northeast region are being upgraded for which about Rs 457 crore is being spent during the current financial year. This will mainly focus developing airport related infrastructure and enhancing passenger amenities,” he said.
Listing out AAI’s immediate plans, he said world-class integrated terminal buildings were coming up in Guwahati and Agartala.
“Last year, Lengpui (Aizawl) and Dimapur (Nagaland) were the focus areas where new connectivity has been restored. Go Air started its daily direct connections to Aizawl from Guwahati, similarly Alliance Air (subsidiary of Air India) started services from Guwahati to Dimapur and till Imphal. This route was started under the regional connectivity scheme (UDAN). This has resulted in promotion of trade apart from growth in the hospitality sector,” he added.
Jindal further informed that the LGBI airport in Guwahati witnessed passenger growth of over 25 per cent in 2019 while a similar development was witnessed at the other airports of the region.
AAI’s achievements in the Northeast also include implementation of 100 per cent e-office in the organisation with all airports working online and files processed online through NIC server.
“Most of the land disputes in the region have been resolved with100 per cent land mutation done for all airports. As most of the airports in the Northeast are located in rural areas, the land records and their details are difficult to maintain. However, barring some areas, the rest of the issues have been sorted,” he said.