Dornier 228 takes off on maiden commercial flight from Dibrugarh to Pasighat
India made aircraft, by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Do-228 , for the first time in the country, launched commercial operations in NER from today.
DIBRUGARH- Dornier 228 aircraft on April 12 took off on its maiden commercial flight from Assam’s Dibrugarh to Arunachal Pradesh’s Pasighat . With this, India made aircraft, by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Do-228 , for the first time in the country, launched commercial operations in NER from today.
The public sector Alliance Air in February signed an agreement with HAL for leasing two Dornier 228 aircraft. The airline received the two aircraft on April 7.
“Overjoyed and proud to embark on the 17-seater Made-in-India Dornier 228 aircraft – in its first ever maiden service to Arunachal Pradesh!” Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted after inaugurating the Dibrugarh-Pasighat flight along with Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Overjoyed and proud to embark on the 17 seater Made-in-India Dornier 228 aircraft – in its first ever maiden service to Arunachal Pradesh! Jai ho! @KirenRijiju pic.twitter.com/nEuUykrvAC
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) April 12, 2022
“Alliance Air is the first airline to embark upon the journey of operating the made-in-India aircraft and contributing towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative,” he said.
Alliance Air’s coordinator (east) Chirasree Sanyal said the airline had been tasked with offering better connectivity for Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns with their closest city hubs with the vision of “connecting new India”.
The route linking Dibrugarh with Pasighat and Lilabari (Assam) will see operations twice a week from April 18. The aircraft is capable of both day and night operations, officials said.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who flagged off the flight from Pasighat, said the small fixed-wing flight service would help bolster tourism, making air travel affordable and accessible to all.
