DoNER Ministry asks Civil Aviation to pool in five aircraft for NE

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to pool in five aircraft to provide intra-regional air connectivity in the North Eastern states, official sources said today.

DoNER Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar had written a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel requesting him to extend the services of Alliance Air to connect all the state capitals and major towns in the region under a new scheme - 'North East Airlines Service'.

The aircraft may run as a 'hub and spook' model from Guwahati (for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Sikkim) and Agartala (for Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura).

Mr Aiyar's request came after the proposal for a dedicated airline to improve air connectivity in the region failed to make any progress.

In fact, the North Eastern Council, of which Mr Aiyar is the Chairman, has been funding the Alliance Air for its operation in some of the northeastern states, but its services were often found to be ''insufficient and erratic''.

The Council has spent about Rs 170 crore (during 2002-07) on Alliance Air, as there were no other alternatives.

In his letter, the DoNER Minister also reminded the Civil Aviation Minister that UPA government had committed to promoting intra-regional air connectivity for the northeastern region, which is integral part of the NER vision 2020.

DoNER/NEC is prepared to renegotiate a fresh deal with Alliance Air for intra-regional operation.

Currently, half a dozen airliners - Indian Airlines/Alliance Air, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Indigo, Spicejet, Jet Lite - are operating 286 flights every week in the northeastern region, connecting 11 airports in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

In fact, in the last two years, DoNER and NEC invited expression of interests for a 'dedicated airline' from private parties, and even offered relaxed terms, but no 'suitable' candidate could be found.

-- (UNI) -- 01CA11.xml

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