Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki met Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma and sought his support to improve the air connectivity scenario in the state.
Tuki stressed on the immediate need to introduce more commercial flights connecting New Delhi to Lilabari, the nearest airport to Itanagar to benefit the passengers from the state, a CMO release said here on Friday.
In his submission to the Union minister on Thursday, Tuki said “in view of the absence of a full-fledged airport at Itanagar, the local populace of my state is dependent on flights mainly from neighbouring Airports in Assam, particularly Lilabari which is at a distance of around 72 kms from the state Capital of Itanagar.
“He informed about the operation of ATR services from the Lilabari airport by Allianz Air which receives aid from North Eastern Council (NEC) in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
Detailing on the functions of the ATR services, Tuki informed that the services of Allianz were started in order to cater to the passengers from the North Bank of the Brahmaputra and more particularly those from Arunachal Pradesh.
Further stressing on the hardship of the air connectivity in the state, he informed that the services of Allianz are far from satisfactory and that there are problems related to the frequency of flights as well as the scheduling.
“The frequency of flights to Lilabari is not only low but also irregular. Moreover, the time slots and schedule are not convenient for passengers as they do not in any way help in connecting them to important Airports.
“This service, which is being run as a circuit for the entire North Eastern Region has therefore diluted the rationale for connecting the passengers from the North Bank of the Brahmaputra and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
“I would request you to introduce Boeing services to and from Lilabari to New Delhi via Kolkata/Guwahati (at least four days a week) to overcome the aforementioned challenges.
“You may also recommend the private operators to start services in this sector to provide Air Connectivity for the people of our strategic state,” he detailed.
Later, Tuki also discussed the pending sanction of the Greenfield Airport at Hollongi and requested the Union minister to recommend the inclusion of the proposal in the Union Budget of 2015-16.
While drawing the attention to the issue of DGCA audit and certification of nearly 120 helipads in different parts of Arunachal Pradesh, the CM requested the minister to ask DGCA to complete the certification in the greater interests of ensuring safety standards.
Secretary Planning of the Arunachal Pradesh government Sonam Chombay, who was also present in the meeting, flagged the issue of the installation of Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) in all the Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) of the state to facilitate operation of civilian aircrafts, the release added. (PTI)
