Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia flags off Itanagar-Mumbai flights from Donyi Polo Airport

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the minister of civil aviation, gave the go-ahead on Monday for an IndiGo flight from Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata. This is the inaugural flight out of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh's Donyi Polo Airport in Hollongi. From New Delhi, Scindia essentially signalled the start of the flight. The route for the flight is Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju was among those who virtually attended the occasion. 

At the event here, IndiGo Principal Adviser RK Singh said Itanagar is the airline's 75th domestic destination. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport on November 19. It is the fourth operational airport in the state. 'Donyi' means the sun, and 'Polo' means the moon. The airport, also the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh, has been developed in an area of over 690 acres at the cost of more than Rs 640 crore. The airport is suitable for all weather day operations, and the runway is 2,300 metres long.

Also read: Indigo plane isolated after tissue paper 'BOMB' scare, 200 passengers evacuated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first greenfield airport in Arunachal Pradesh in mid-November at Hollongi near Itanagar. The Donyi Polo airport was built with the aim of improving connectivity, trade, and tourism in the mountainous northeastern state.

It is to be noted that the Donyi Polo airport has been developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of Rs 645 crore and is spread over an area of area of 4100 sq m and has a peak handling capacity of 200 passengers per hour.

With a 2,300 m runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations. It will be suitable for landing and take-off of Boeing 747, officials said. It will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East.

With inputs from PTI