Guwahati-Bangkok Flight On Cards: Chandra Mohan Patowary

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: After successful operation of the Guwahati-Dhaka flight, the Guwahati-Bangkok flight service will soon commence to boost the State’s air connectivity with South East Asian countries. Act East Policy Affairs and Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary told reporters here on Thursday that the Spice Jet which had won the contract (Guwahati-Bangkok flight service) after a national bidding will charge only fixed fares. The State Government has already released a Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs. 100 crore to the Civil Aviation Ministry to make the flight journey affordable for everyone, he said. The Spice Jet is currently operating its flights on Guwahati-Dhaka route.

Patowary said the flight services in four other international routes -- Guwahati-Kuala Lumpur, Guwahati-Kathmandu, Guwahati-Hanoi and Guwahati-Yangon will also be started. He said since the national bidding did not find eligible parties to operate flights in the four routes, international bidding will be arranged to find suitable operators.

The Minister said the prime objective of the international flight services is to improve air connectivity of Assam with ASEAN and BBN (Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal) regions which have 80 crore populations. He said the air connectivity is getting the boost under the Centre’s UDAN international scheme.

Patowary said geo-strategic location of Assam should be leveraged in this region to catapult India’s presence in the ASEAN and BBN (Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal) regions. He said Assam is only State in the country which has set up a separate Act East Policy Affairs department.

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