The first-ever ‘Made in India’ 17-seater Dornier aircraft would be pressed into its maiden service connecting five remote towns of Arunachal Pradesh to Assam’s Dibrugarh.
History of Indian aviation
On what would be a red-letter day in the history of Indian aviation, this will further boost air connectivity of the North Eastern Region with the rest of the country.
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has agreed with a Scheme- “Providing air connectivity and Aviation infrastructure in North Eastern Region (NER)” to promote air connectivity in the states of the North Eastern Region and, it demands, to develop of infrastructure for air connectivity.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
As a part of this scheme, two important growth will take place tomorrow – The first flight of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – Made in India- Dornier Do-228 from Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat town in Arunachal Pradesh by Alliance Air, making it India’s only first commercial airline to fly Indian made aircraft for civil operations and inauguration of first FTO (Flying Training Organization) for North Eastern Region at Lilabari, Assam.
Both events will be attended by the Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and the Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Pema Khandu will also be attending.
According to HAL sources, the 17-seater non-pressurized Dornier 228 with an AC cabin is capable of day and night operations. The light transport aircraft will facilitate regional connectivity in northeastern states.
These two aircraft were handed over to Alliance Air last Thursday and one has been moved to Dibrugarh airport, the newest hub for Alliance air.
The aircraft will be used to give air connectivity to remote places of eastern Arunachal Pradesh including some areas close to the China and Myanmar borders.
The Advanced Landing Grounds ( ALG) maintained by Indian Air Force will be used for landing, officially said.
Alliance Air will initially be flying from Dibrugarh to Pasighat. And in the next 15 to 20 days, it will fly to Tezu and then to Ziro, both towns in Arunachal Pradesh. All of this will happen in the first phase.
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In the second phase, it will connect Vijaynagar, Mechuka, Along and other places will be linked, a top official of the Ministry of civil aviation told.
All these locations in eastern Arunachal Pradesh needed 1-5 days of travel to reach the nearest airports of Dibrugarh and Lilabari in Assam, officials further said.
Development of the North Eastern Region (NER) is not only of strategic importance but, is a part of India’s growth story. Connectivity in North Eastern Region is very essential and Under “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)”, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has identified North Eastern Region as a priority area. This has helped in enhancing inter and intra connectivity for the North Eastern Region.
In this regard, new airports are getting developed and old airports are getting upgraded. Considering the hilly terrain, helicopter operations under the UDAN scheme have been given the focus on connectivity.
Dornier is initially a german aircraft first deployed by the long-defunct regional airline Vayudoot to service over 100 airports across India till the 1990s.
In 1981, HAL acquired the production license for the aircraft from the manufacturers and assembled 125 of them at its Kanpur facility for both civilian and military purposes.
Since 2009, Swiss aerospace engineering and defense company RUAG has been manufacturing the upgraded Do-228 New Generation (NG), with the fuselage, wings, and tail being sourced from HAL.
The Dornier 228 NG operated for commercial operations is the first aircraft made entirely in the country. It is a far improved version as compared to its predecessors.
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