Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates new infrastructure at Tezu Airport, Arunachal Pradesh
Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister for Civil Aviation and Steel, inaugurated the newly developed infrastructure of Tezu Airport in Arunachal Pradesh last week.
Tezu Airport is a domestic airport located in the town of Tezu, which operates through a single runway. The airport has been developed on 212 acres of land and is capable of handling operations for ATR 72 type of aircraft. AAI undertook the development and upgradation work to operationalise Tezu Airport at the request of the State government. The works undertaken, for Rs 170 crore, include the extension of the runway (1,500 m x 30 m) and the construction of a new apron for 02 ATR 72 type aircraft, construction of a new terminal building, and a fire station cum ATC Tower.
Mr Scindia highlighted on the occasion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made North-East India the ‘HIRA’ (diamond) of India, which means Highway, Internet, Railway and Aviation – the four core components that are enabling holistic and inclusive development in the region. He also talked about the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN which has benefited the region. He said the PM has democratised civil aviation through the UDAN scheme, with more than 2.50 lakh UDAN flights have helped more than 1.37 crore people to travel.
He pointed out that till 2014 there was no airport in Arunachal Pradesh. In a span of 9 years, 4 new airports have been developed and operationalised. The new Terminal Building at Tezu will further enhance the connectivity of the region and play a vital role in its economic development, he said.
The Minister also announced three direct routes from Itanagar under the UDAN 5.0 scheme: Itanagar to Delhi, Itanagar to Jorahat and Itanagar to Rupsi, to be operationalised soon.
Tezu Airport was launched in 2018 under the RCS UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is currently connected to Dibrugarh, Imphal & Guwahati through regular scheduled flights by Alliance Air & Flybig Airline, said a release.