UDAN adds another flight at Dibrugarh Airport under Regional Connectivity Scheme

New Delhi: The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) has added another wing at Airports Authority of India's (AAI) Dibrugarh Airport in Assam. Domestic carrier Indigo started another flight under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN programme, of the government from Monday, in its schedule to Imphal, said an official statement.

The inaugural ceremony was held in the presence of Dibrugarh Airport's Airport Director R Awasthi, CISF's Gautam and other airport officials of AAI and Indigo with first few passengers.

According to a press release from AAI-NER, Indigo flight number 6E-7948 is now connecting Kolkata and Imphal with Dibrugarh daily. This flight will take around 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Imphal from Dibrugarh.

Expressing his views, Awasthi said that the increase in the number of flights, along with the addition of new destinations, is making Dibrugarh Airport an aviation hub for travellers from around the country and the world. The RCS-UDAN scheme has added wings to the existing travel experience, especially for first-time travellers. Presently, there is a maximum of nine flights departing from Dibrugarh Airport, handling around 1,200 passengers every day, amid COVID-19 related advisory. And we are optimistic that once the restrictions are lifted, the airport will reach its pre-COVID level air traffic growth, allowing passengers more convenience in air travel, he added.

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With this, Dibrugarh Airport is now connected with four state capitals of North Eastern India, namely, Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal and Dimapur.

The flights under the RCS-UDAN scheme has connected various remote areas of North-East India and helped boost travel and trade. It has also reduced the travel time significantly and added convenience to passengers coming from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to Manipur.

This is the third flight under the RCS-UDAN scheme to start its operations from Dibrugarh Airport. The first flight connected Dibrugarh with Dimapur (presently the flight is suspended), while the second flight connected Dibrugarh with Agartala which is presently operational on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Upon its arrival, the inaugural flight was welcomed by a water cannon salute.

"Dibrugarh Airport is maintaining all COVID-19 related protocol and mandating the RT-PCR testing facility available at Airport which is provided by the district administration," the press release added.

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