IndiGo aircraft successfully tests lands at newly-constructed Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar

Indian low-cost airline IndiGo successfully test-landed its aircraft at the newly-constructed Donyi Polo Airport in Itanagar. This will enhance the air connectivity of Arunachal Pradesh and will connect the northeastern state with the rest of the country. Further, the first-ever historic airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the state capital Itanagar. The air travel in the state will begin on October 28. This step will boost tourism in the state and also strengthen the security of Arunachal as the northeastern state shares an international boundary with three countries, which is a 1,160-km international border with China and a few hundred kilometers with Bhutan and Myanmar.

Under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN) scheme, Prime Minister Modi launched the first flight on April 27, 2017. The scheme aims to connect small and medium cities with big cities through air service. This is the new beginning of a new Arunachal, blessed with tourist spots where many international and domestic tourists can come. Itanagar`s nearest airport is North Lakhimpur in Assam and it is about 57 kilometers away. Tourists who are going to the state capital have to travel from North Lakhimpur airport.

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The "Donyi Polo Airport" airport in Itanagar would be Arunachal Pradesh`s third airport after Pasighat and Tezu airports and northeast India`s 16th airport. The Chief Minister had earlier said that work on the airport is on war footing and shall be made operational soon.

IndiGo flight tests lands at Itanagar, PM Modi to inaugurate new airport

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Currently, there are 15 operational airports in the northeastern region -- Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilalabari, and Rupsi (Assam), Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland), Lengpui (Mizoram) and Pakyong (Sikkim). The Airport Authority of India has undertaken a Rs 650 crore project to develop the airport to boost air connectivity in the mountainous areas.

(With inputs from ANI)