Photo: Twitter
Itanagar, Jul 19: In a major boost to the air connectivity sector in this landlocked Himalayan region, the calibration flight of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday landed at the under-construction Itanagar Greenfield Airport at Hollongi, about 15 km from the state capital, signifying "testing & licensing phase" of the airport before being operationalized by this year.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said, after calibration flights on Tuesday & Wednesday, licensing procedure of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation will start.
The Greenfield airport is planned for operationalization on August 15, 2022, the Arunachal Pradesh government as well as the Ministry had said.
Taking to Twitter, Khandu has expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for strengthening the efforts in crossing the significant 'milestone'.
"Arunachal Pradesh Soaring High! A proud moment for us all as we cross yet another milestone in our efforts to operationalise Hollongi Greenfield Airport with the first flight test landing by AAI. Grateful to Hon PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and Hon Minister @JM_Scindia Ji. Kudos team," Khandu wrote.
In another social media post, an elated Khandu wrote: "Where there's a Will, there's a Way! And a Runway. For ages Arunachal Pradesh was deprived of air connectivity despite our incredible tourism potential. Hon PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji's Will ensured we have an airport here. He laid the foundation stone of Itanagar Greenfield Airport in February, 2019.
"Happy to witness the landing of first calibration flight B-350 (KingAir) of Airports Authority of India at Itanagar Greenfield Airport at 9:20 am today…Congratulations and my best wishes to Capt Anoop Kachroo & Capt Shakti Singh; Flight Inspectors Naveen Dudi & Hardeep Singh; DVDR Calibration In-charges Ashish Gautam & SS Rohilla for soft landing. Indeed a glorious day today!"
Earlier on July 16, Khandu tweeted, "Happy to announce that configuration flight for Itanagar airport is fixed for July 18. First inspection by @DGCAIndia is scheduled for July 25. Final laying of the 4-lane approach road is almost complete. Itanagar #Airport is getting ready to serve the people of the great state soon."