In what is being described as a significant landmark in India’s aviation history, a “made-in-India”Dornier 228 aircraft undertook its first commercial aviation flight from Upper Assam’s Dibrugarh to central Arunachal Pradesh’s Pasighat on Tuesday.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotirditya Scindia, who was aboard the flight along with Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju, described the occasion as “historic”.
“A historic day for the North East, as well as for all of India! With the pro-active support of Sh @PemaKhanduBJP, @MoCA_GoI has launched the first-ever commercial services by the made-in-India Dornier aircraft” tweeted Scindia.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who received them at the Pasighat airport, said it was a “proud moment and historic occasion” and that it would boost air connectivity in the Northeast.
Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the 17-seater aircraft will be operated by Alliance Air, and connect Dibrugarh with Pasighat and Lilabari (Assam). The flights will be operational twice a week, beginning April 18. According to a release form the Arunachal government, HAL had been manufacturing Dornier aircrafts after transfer of technology from the German firm that owned it, but made-in-India aircraft had not been used for civil aviation so far.
In the next month, the route will be expanded to include Tezu and Ziro towns of Arunachal Pradesh.
