Amidst the frequent landslide and deteriorating road condition along the National highway 6, the IndiGo Airlines have stopped the Silchar-Shillong and Agartala- Shillong direct flights which were operating under the UDAN scheme as this has left the people residing at landlocked Barak Valley and Agartala in dismay.
An official from Airport Authority of India (AAI) said this was done from the side of the IndiGo Airlines.
“Infact these flights are not listed in the summer schedule of the Airline,” the official said.
Asked, Deputy Chief Minister In-Charge Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar said, “Nobody complained to me, maybe it has stopped from their (IndiGo Airlines) and not from outside.”
To improve the air connectivity in the state, the Government is venturing out the possibility to bring more aircraft.
Dhar said the state government is still waiting for the feasibility report of the second survey on expansion of the runway at the Shillong Airport at Umroi town.
“Just before the budget session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly we have asked the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and they are doing the survey and only after receiving the feasibility report we can take a call,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
“In the meantime we are trying to bring more flights, and the process is on. It will be the smaller aircrafts trying to connect two three more cities,” Dhar added.
Meanwhile, the people in the landlocked Barak Valley are finding it difficult to travel to Guwahati via Shillong as there is a frequent disruption of road connectivity from Silchar to Shillong following a series of landslides that hit a stretch of the highway 6 passing through the hills.
Shillong road to Barak Valley is also blocked after a series of landslides hit a stretch of the highway passing through the hills. Against this backdrop, the air service is the only viable way out for the residents of the Barak Valley. But the price of Silchar-Guwahati flights skyrocketed in light of the recent events. The Silchar-Shillong flight under the Udan project was much cheaper, but this had suddenly stopped operating, leaving the people in this landlocked region in the lurch.