Arunachal’s capital Itanagar gets airport, PM inaugurates Donyi Polo Airport

• It is Arunachal’s third airport after Tezu and Passighat and the 16th airport for the northeast
• Aircraft movement in the northeast has increased by 113% — from 852 per week in 2014 to 1,817 per week in 2022
• The airport has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore
• Hollongi, which is around 15 km from Itanagar 
• Flights connecting Hollongi with Mumbai and Kolkata will operate daily barring Wednesday

IndiGlobal Bureau

The much awaited airport at Itanagar, the first Greenfield airport was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. It is being seen as a major development as the airport located at Hollangi, close to the capital will link the border state with other Indian cities with commercial flights as well as other parts of Arunachal Pradesh through helicopter services.

This is Arunachal’s third airport after Tezu and Passighat and the 16th airport for the northeast. He also dedicated to the nation the 600 MW Kameng hydro power station in Itanagar.

The Modi government has paid special emphasis on improving connectivity to, from and within the region. Till 2014, there were nine operational airports in the NE. Since then, thanks to the building of seven more operational airports, aircraft movement in the northeast has increased by 113% — from 852 per week in 2014 to 1,817 per week in 2022, said a government statement.

Locals had for a long time been seeking an airport for Arunachal’s capital and the plan for the same was conceived in 2005. But it was on February 9, 2019, that PM Modi laid the foundation stone. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) completed the project in time despite the Covid pandemic.

The airport has been developed in an area of over 690 acres, at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore. With a 2,300 m runway, the airport is suitable for all weather day operations. “The airport terminal is a modern building, which promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the recycling of resources. Donyi Polo Airport will be the third operational airport for Arunachal Pradesh, taking the total airport count in the North-East region to 16. From 1947 to 2014, only nine airports were built in the North-East. In a short span of eight years since then, the Modi government has built seven airports in the North-East,” read the official statement.

Flights connecting Hollongi, which is around 15 km from Itanagar, with Mumbai and Kolkata will operate daily barring Wednesday. A weekly flight service connecting Hollongi with Kolkata on Wednesdays will begin on December 3, the chief strategy and revenue officer of IndiGo, Sanjay Kumar had said recently.

Besides IndiGo, Akasha and Flybig airlines have also expressed interest in starting flight services from Donyi Polo airport, AAI General Manager Dilip Kumar Sajnani said.