Hailakandi, July 10: Jet Airways will start its Boeing services between Silchar and New Delhi from Sunday.
The move comes just months after a Calcutta-Silchar-Guwahati Jet Airways flight landed for the first time at night in Silchar's Kumbhirgram airport on May 26.
Kumbhirgram Airport is 25km from Silchar town is connected via Udharbond's state PWD road and partially through the Silchar-Saurastra Rastriya Mahamarg (East-West corridor).
Airport authority sources said a Boeing Jet Airways flight will leave Silchar at 12.40pm and reach Guwahati at 1.30pm. The same flight will leave Guwahati's Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at 2.10pm for Silchar and at 3.45 pm the flight will again leave Silchar to reach Calcutta at 5.05pm. After a layover of 55 minutes in Calcutta, the flight will go to New Delhi. Similarlythe flight will leave New Delhi at 7.30am and reach Silchar 11.50am via Calcutta.
Earlier, people of Silchar had to take connecting flights from Calcutta as the services of Jet Airways used to end there.
There was an acute shortage of tickets and the prices were also very high. Most of the flights were small ATR carriers.
Besides Jet Airways, Indian Airlines also has ATR services from Kumbhirgram up to Guwahati and Calcutta.
The ATR flights have the capacity of 72 passengers, while the Boeings have the capacity of 168 passengers.
Jet Airways sources said it has received "tremendous" response from the passengers of Barak Valley after the release of tickets online.
Silchar MP Sushmita Dev said, "I feel strategically, Silchar in Barak Valley is well placed for a new airport that can turn into a hub for the entire Northeast."
She said Silchar is very close Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram and these states will also benefit with the introduction of a direct flight to New Delhi. Dev also demanded the development of Silchar airport which does not even have a restaurant.
Dev said she has written to Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal a few days back on upgrading Silchar airport under the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016.
She said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requested the state government to provide a suitable land for the development of a new civil enclave at Silchar. Dev said the AAI is planning to expand the security hold area at Kumbhirgram airport at the existing civil enclave and construct an additional boarding gate# All this will require more land, she added.
