SHILLONG: The northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) now have a single nonstop flight offered by SpiceJet.
The airline and the Meghalaya Transport Corporation signed a contract last month that paved the way for the new service. On February 24, the inaugural flight took off with 18 passengers aboard, while only 12 people were on board the return leg to Delhi.
Flights will run on Mondays and Fridays, twice a week. Dash 8-Q400 aircraft from SpiceJet will fly the routes. This new service is one of the longest Dash 8-Q400 routes in the world, with a block time of more than three hours each way and a flying distance of 926 miles.
Using FlightRadar24.com, you can observe the maiden flight's path. Shilpa Bhatia, the airline's chief commercial officer, praised the opening of the new route, adding, "We are thrilled to add Shillong to our network. With its beautiful scenery and breathtaking geography, Meghalaya is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the North East, and the state has a great deal of potential for increased tourism.”
The state's travel and tourism industries will receive a huge boost from nonstop flights that offer hassle-free connections. There are now only three airlines operating at Shillong Airport, including SpiceJet.
The other two airlines are Alliance Air and IndiGo, both of which offer a variety of regional routes to locations such as Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and Dimapur Airport (DMU) (CCU).
The state of Meghalaya is home to several distinctive tourism attractions, and recent years have seen a steady increase in the number of visitors.
Shillong Airport's 6,000-foot runway, however, prevents it from currently handling jet aircraft like the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320. As a result, airlines are forced to use turboprop aircraft like the Dash 8-Q400 and the ATR 72-600.
In order to accommodate larger aircraft, plans to extend the runway were in place; however, they have since been shelved due to expense.
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