SHILLONG, Feb 27: The state government on Thursday said it is hopeful about expanding the runaway of the Umroi Airport by the end of 2026.
“Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has updated the cabinet members about the status of the airport. As things stand we should be in a position to get at least the runway expanded by the end of 2026,” MDA spokesperson and Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh said.
Talking about the expansion work, Lyngdoh said discussions are being held at the Ministry level in Delhi and the proposal for exchange of land between the state government and defence authorities has made some progress.
It may be mentioned that several direct flights from Umroi airport to neighbouring cities have been suspended in recent times.
After IndiGo stopped its flights to and from Silchar and Agartala sometimes back, Alliance Air also suspended its Shillong-Dimapur and Shillong-Guwahati flights.
SpiceJet also suspended its Shillong-Kolkata flight a few weeks ago and even the Shillong-Delhi flight is operating only twice a week.
The remaining available flights have become too expensive for fliers. Alliance Air, for instance, is charging Rs 9,000-10,000 per person for its Shillong-Aizawl flight instead of Rs 3,000-4,000 earlier.
The only positive is that Alliance Air has started a direct flight between Shillong and Pasighat in Arunachal apart from operating two direct flights to Kolkata every day.
