The NorthEast is connected by air like never before

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IndiGo is set to launch flights to Donyi Polo Airport at Hollangi near Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh later this month. The airport was one of the fastest projects to be developed even though time was lost due to the pandemic after the foundation stone was laid in February 2019.

The airport was slated to be the only airport in Arunachal Pradesh, hitherto serviced from Dibrugarh in neighbouring Assam, but things took a positive turn. India’s easternmost state now has flights to Ziro, Tezu and Pasighat. The emergence of multiple airports in the northeast is a testimony to how focus on the region has aided its connectivity.

Also Read: IndiGo CarGo commences operations with first freighter flight between Delhi & Mumbai

A mix of things has aided this. First was the increased focus of the government towards northeast connectivity. Secondly, airlines were required to fly to the northeast and other poorly connected regions in compliance with the Route Dispersal Guidelines.

Thirdly, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN), which may not have been extremely successful, but has definitely helped operationalise new airports and routes.

As things stand today, the seven sister states of the northeast have airports at Agartala, Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro, Hollangi (starting soon), Rupsi, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar, Tezpur, Imphal, Shillong, Dimapur and Aizawl. With the addition of Hollangi, there will be 101 operational airports in India, with 16 in the northeast to serve 4.5 percent of the country’s population.

What led to this spurt?

Northeast India has always been considered a strategic part of the country. Additionally, as the region moves away from insurgency, travel rules have been relaxed and it has immense potential for tourism. But this is like a chicken-and-egg situation: does good connectivity attract tourists, or does the inflow of visitors lead to better connectivity?

There had to be a start and that came in the form of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN). Airports at Rupsi, Tezu and Pasighat started operations under RCS-UDAN, while those at Jorhat, Lilabari and Shillong got a new lease of life. The Route Dispersal Guidelines mandate airlines to deploy a certain capacity to the northeast and/or Jammu and Kashmir, Leh-Ladakh. This capacity is based on how much they fly on the top 20 routes in the country.

This led to more direct connections to New Delhi, instead of relying on Guwahati for one-stop connectivity or worse, having to stay in Guwahati overnight. Over the years, New Delhi, which was connected non-stop only to Guwahati, has been connected non-stop to Dibrugarh, Agartala and Imphal.

What led to this? A multitude of factors. On the infrastructure side, successive local governments have lobbied to increase connectivity. This meant expanding runway lengths, improving navigation aids and refurbishing terminals.

One has to factor in the challenges of flying in the northeast. Inclement weather and sunsets as early as 4.30 pm in some areas mean it is not possible to fly during the entire day and utilise aircraft as one would in the rest of the country.

While the government has to be given the credit, airlines deserve more than that. Three airlines really stand out in the quest to connect the northeast. Flybig, a regional carrier that started operations during the pandemic, has the majority of its capacity in the northeast. While routes like Shillong-New Delhi did not go as planned, it has built a strong network within the region and has linked hitherto unconnected points.

Alliance Air, the only government-owned airline in the country, inducted a new type of made-in-India Dornier Do-228 aircraft for some routes, which allowed it to start operations to Zero and Pasighat from Dibrugarh. Inducting a new aircraft type comes at a significant cost, but it has been done for the sake of connectivity.

IndiGo has done something that only Jet Airways tried in the past but could not sustain: connecting the northeast beyond Guwahati directly to Delhi. This has helped passengers save both time and money with non-stop flights to Delhi from state capitals Agartala and Imphal and important business centres like Dibrugarh. IndiGo has even connected Agartala to Bengaluru with a non-stop flight.

Tail note

The RCS-UDAN scheme offers financial support for three years per route. The operator was expected to develop the market so that the route could survive without subsidy.

Flybig, which has most of its operations in the northeast, has very poor load factors. This is discouraging, from an operations point of view.
It’s time the government goes beyond the schemes and looks at ways to increase traffic and help airlines sustain these routes and services.