SHILLONG, Dec 12: Shillong is increasingly getting connected with cities in the Northeast by air but not with Tura as the Baljek airport at Jengjal is yet to be made operational.
Presently, Shillong is connected by air with Dimapur in Nagaland, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Guwahati in Assam, Imphal in Manipur and Agartala in Tripura.
Earlier, the government had acquired land for extending the runway of Baljek airport but the idea has not materialized till date. There are hundreds of people who travel by road between Shillong and Tura every day.
Uday Rawat, who is an aviation expert, said people are looking forward to direct flights between Tura and Shillong and Tura and Guwahati as the “re-carpeting” of runway and renovation of terminal building has been completed at Baljek airport.
“I am in touch with operators who are keen to provide connectivity,” he said, adding that in the present scenario, only the 19-seater passenger configuration Dornier-228 is “fit” to operate on a 3,300 feet runway.
Earlier, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma had spoken about plans to connect Tura with different cities. It was also the tallest leader PA Sangma’s vision to connect Shillong with New Delhi.
Appreciating the chief minister for his role in ensuring the Shillong-Delhi flight service last year, Rawat said the officials, who made it possible, include Commissioner and Secretary of Transport MR Synrem, Managing Director of Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC), KL Nongbri, DGM of MTC Salseng Sangma, Principal Consultant Ebenezer Lyngwa and Umroi Airport Director, Rishikant Bangwal.
It was due to the support of state government, MTC and Airport Authority of India that the load factor for Shillong-Delhi flight service of 60% could be achieved.
Currently, six flights land and take off on Mondays and Saturdays, five on Wednesdays and four on Tuesdays.
Meanwhile, the commencement of Shillong-Delhi flight service by Flybig continues to get delayed despite the state government giving necessary support to the airline. Sources said the CM had recently taken up the matter with the airline.
