Assam, Tripura, and Manipur will be able to fly to certain international destinations under the international UDAN program.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS), which aims to connect certain states in the country with select international destinations. It is the international version of India’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) program and aims at promoting socio-economic development.
Assam, Manipur, and Tripura will all have access to international destinations including Bangkok, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Yangon, Hanoi, Mandalay, Kunming & Chittagong, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Two international airports serve the northeast region, in Guwahati and Imphal. Imphal airport is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) while the Guwahati airport is operated by the Guwahati International Airport Limited (GIAL).
In order to increase passenger handling capacity and also to improve the services of the airports, GIAL and AAI have started the construction of New Integrated Terminal Buildings at their respective airports along with a host of other development works. It will cost INR 500 crore to complete Imphal Airport’s Integrated Terminal Building and will have the capacity to handle 2.4 million passengers every year.
Furthermore, Agartala Airport’s new terminal building has been built in accordance with future requirements for international operations.
