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STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Assam tourism minister Jayanta Mallabaruah on Monday flagged off FlyBig flight services from Guwahati to Dibrugarh with 64 passengers onboard from Lokapriya Gopinath Borodoloi International Airport in Guwahati. FlyBig flight services will be operated between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati under an agreement with the Assam government. In a further push for intra-state air connectivity, the Assam government inked a Memorandum of Understanding with Big Charter Private Limited (or Flybig) in March this year. Under the signed understanding, a decision was made to operate flights between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati routes on a daily basis.
Assam has a total of six to seven operational airports. While the flight operations will be in line with the centre’s UDAN scheme, the state government will provide viability gap funding to the carrier operator. The services will give assured connectivity and an assured price as the agreement has decided to keep a tab on the pricing as the maximum price has been fixed at Rs 4,000, and any additional prices will be borne by the state.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship programme, Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik), has already completed five years. The first flight was launched in April 2017. The scheme was initiated in October 2016 with the objective of fulfilling the aspirations of the common citizen with enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and tier III cities. The government has approved the ‘Revival of unserved and under-served airports’ scheme for the revival and development of 100 unserved and under-served airports, helipads, and water aerodromes by 2024. It is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations, stations, and routes.
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