The North Eastern Region has a distinctive connectivity constraint - thanks to its difficult terrain. It is connected only through a narrow strip of land to the rest of the country and this narrow strip is the well-known Chicken Neck corridor of North Bengal. Both rail and road linkages are only through this corridor. The region does not have adequate rail links and the road connectivity is also poor.?
Moreover, during the monsoon season, the region remains cut off from the rest of the country because of frequent submergence of both road and rail connection lines. Connectivity by air, both intra region and with the rest of the country, thus needs to be substantially augmented. Currently, air connectivity in the NE region is dismal barring the connectivity of a few airports in Guwahati, Agartala and Dibrugarh with the rest of the country.
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Thus, the government is making an effort to start air connectivity between the northeastern states and the rest of the country as well as neighbouring countries. Currently, Guwahati and Imphal are the only two cities with international airports in northeast India. On account of low air connectivity with the North Eastern states, the only connectivity between North East India and countries like Bangkok, Dhaka and Yangon is through Kolkata, which is a much longer route. However, if there is air connectivity between northeast India and East Asian countries, this would not only boost trade and economy within the country but also outside India, not to mention the distances that would significantly reduce. ?
The junior Civil Aviation minister said the central government expects some private airlines to soon introduce more flights in the northeast and operate international flights from there. "To improve regional air connectivity at fair price, MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) would be signed with the governments of the northeastern states," he added.
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Considering the poor road condition in the Northeast, the state government urged the union minister to take steps to increase the number of flights from Agartala to Kolkata, Delhi and Guwahati keeping in mind the poor road condition of the national highways in the mountainous region.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has undertaken an ambitious project to operationalise 50 currently unused airports across the country, including the northeastern region. Though these areas are far flung, the government is keen to offer fair prices in air travel in the country.
The Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar and Transport Minister, Manik Dey, said that the Civil Aviation Ministry has undertaken a Rs.400 crore project to upgrade Agartala airport to international standards by providing world-class facilities. He highlighted that upgradation of Agartala airport is very vital as Tripura's capital city is the second largest city in northeast India in terms of population and air traffic after Guwahati. Agartala airport handled 816,303 passengers in 2013 and the number rose to 905,014 in 2015.?
Moreover, the state government had allotted 72 acres of land to AAI for construction of the new terminal building, runway and other necessary infrastructure in Agartala airport following which 157 families had relocated to acquire 72 acres of land.
Thus, upgradation of the Agartala airport is likely to start soon. Moreover, talks are on with the Chief Minister to rename the airport.
Air India
In keeping with the plan by the government to improve air connectivity in the North East, Air India decided to operate small aircraft with 20 or less seats within the North-Eastern Region and make Guwahati, Agartala and Dibrugarh as hubs for the airline's operations within the region. Air India has also trained local youth for manning these hubs for ensuring effective functioning, providing a base at Guwahati for aircraft and night stop at Agartala and Dibrugarh.