Air Connectivity in North-East Region

by Director General of Civil AviationMinistry of Civil Aviation

30th October, 2011 1

Need for Air Services in NER

• Most of the places in the North-Eastern states are inaccessible and located in far flung areas

• Road and Rail facilities are inadequate• Viable means of transportation in the North-

Eastern states is by air

2

Air Connectivity in NER

3

1970sAir Connectivity in NERProvided by Indian Airlines only

(12 Stations)

State Stations Airlinked

Assam Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar, Tezpur

Manipur ImphalNagaland DimapurTripura Agartala, Kailashahar, Khowai, Kamalpur

4

1980sAir Connectivity in NERProvided by Indian Airlines and

Supplemented by Vayudoot(18 Stations)

State Stations Airlinked

Arunachal Pradesh Along, Daporijo, Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro

Assam Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar, Tezpur

Manipur Imphal

Mizoram Aizwal

Meghalaya Shillong

Nagaland Dimapur

Tripura Agartala, Kailashahar, Kamalpur 5

1990sAir Connectivity in NER

• With the closure of Vayudoot, air services got discontinued in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya due to: – Non-availability of suitable type of aircraft for operations to

existing airports in these states• Air services continued in the following States:

– Assam– Manipur– Mizoram– Nagaland– Tripura 6

Present Air Connectivity in NER(Airport & Airline-wise)

AI – Air India, CD – Alliance Air, 9W – Jet Airways, S2 – JetLite, G8 – Go Air, IT - Kingfisher Airlines, SG – Spicejet, 6E – IndiGo Jet ATR42

Station AI CD 9W S2 IT G8 SG 6E

Agartala

Aizwal

Dibrugarh

Dimapur

Guwahati

Imphal

Jorhat

Lilabari

Shillong

Silchar

Tezpur Total Stations 07 10 07 05 05 01 02 04

7

Air Connectivity in NER

Winter 2005

Winter 2011

Percent Increase

Flights per day 32 58 10.6%City pairs per day 79 121 7.5%Seats Deployed per day 8017 19091 15.9%

8

Traffic Trends in North East Region

YearAircraft Movements Passengers Freight (In Tonnes)

No. % Change No. % Change No. % Change

2004-05 33019 4.5 % 1447453 10.8 % 10304 13.4%

2005-06 34036 3.1 % 1620880 12.0 % 11006 6.8%

2006-07 42069 23.6 % 2272213 40.2 % 9836 -10.6%

2007-08 55471 31.9 % 2861671 25.9 % 11260 14.5%

2008-09 58843 6.1 % 2977703 4.1 % 13346 18.5%

2009-10 62307 5.9% 3628313 21.8% 18947 42.0%

2010-11 67393 8.2% 4510271 26.5% 24087 27.1%9

Connectivity from Metros

10

Intra-connectivity from Guwahati

11

Intra-connectivity from Imphal

12

Intra-connectivity from Agartala

13

Non-Scheduled Operations in NER

• North-East Shuttles operates non-scheduled air services in North-East region with:– Two Dornier DO-228

• Operating on following routes:– Guwahati-Dimapur– Guwahati-Imphal– Guwahati-Silchar– Silchar-Imphal

14

Weekly Departures from GAU,IXA & IMF

• Guwahati - 298• Agartala - 105• Imphal - 84• All the three stations airlinked to metros

– Guwahati with Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai– Imphal with Delhi and Kolkata– Agartala with Delhi and Kolkata

15

International Operations from NER

• Air India used to operate international flight on Guwahati-Bangkok-Guwahati route

• Air services discontinued w.e.f. 1st Jul 2008 due poor load

• Present international operations by Druk Air:– Paro-Guwahati-Bangkok & VV 2

flts/week– Paro-Bagdogra-Bangkok & VV 4

flts/week

16

Hub in NER

• Guwahati is already serving as an hub• Imphal and Agartala are prospective hubs• Night landing facility available• Adequate apron space for night parking

– Hangar for A320 family type of aircraft being planned• Due to early sunrise, early departures possible for

more intra connectivity• Convenient afternoon/evening connectivity to

metros17

Helicopter Operations in NER

18

Helicopter Operations in NER

• Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL) is primarily providing helicopters services in NER with subsidy from Central Govt for:– Carriage of passengers– Emergency/medical evacuation– VIP transportation– Tourism

• Global Vectra also operates passenger services in Arurachal Pradesh with one Bell 412 helicopter

19

Helicopter Operations in NER• PHHL operations in following NER States:

– Tripura - One Dauphin SA 365N– Sikkim - One Bell 206/407– Oil India Ltd. - One AS350

(for pipeline surveillance)

20

Status of Airports in NER

21

Airports in NER

• Total 22 airports in the North-East region• Operational - 12 (11 are air linked)

– Agartala, Aizwal, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Guwahati, Imphal, Jorhat, Lilabari, Shillong, Silchar, Tezpur and Tura

• Non-operational - 10– Along, Daporijo, Kailashahar, Kamalpur, Khowai,

Pasighat, Rupsi, Tezu, Turial and Ziro

22

23

Arunachal Pradesh– 5 airports (all non-operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft) Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Along Defence 820 3000 10 NDB, VHF Nil

Daporijo Defence 800 3300 6 Nil Nil

Pasighat AAI 515 3300 10 Nil Nil

Tezu Defence 722 4500 10 NDB, VHF Nil

Zero AAI 4999 4010 10 NDB, VHF Nil

24

– 7 airports (One non-operational)Airport Owner Elev.

(ft)Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Dibrugarh AAI 361 6000 40DVOR/ DME, NDB

HIRL, AFL, PAPI

Day/Night IFR/VFR

0800-1500

Guwahati AAI 161 10200 65DVOR, NDB, ILS, ASR, RSR

HIRL, AFL, PAPI

Day/Night IFR/VFR 0600-

2000

Jorhat Defence 298 9000 40DVOR/ DME, NDB

HIRL, AFL, PAPI

Day IFR/VFR

1130-1630

Lilabari AAI 328 7500 44DVOR/ DME, NDB

HIRL, AFL, PAPI

Day IFR/VFR

1100-1300

Assam

25

– 7 airports (one non-operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Rupsi AAI 131 6000 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Silchar Defence 338 7500 28DVOR/ DME, NDB

PAPI Day IFR/VFR

0600-1600

Tezpur Defence 230 9400 35DVOR/ DME, NDB

PAPI Day IFR/VFR

0630-0930

Assam

26

– 2 airports (one non-operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Lengpui SG 1371 8200 36DVOR/ DME, NDB

HIRF, AFL, PAPI

Day IFR/VFR

0830-1530

Turial AAI 1096 4193 06 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Mizoram

27

– 1 airport (operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Imphal AAI 2535 9000 55DVOR, DME, NDB, ILS

PAPI Day/Night IFR/VFR

0630-1600

Manipur

28

– 2 airports (one ready but non-operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Shillong AAI 2909 6000 23 DVOR, NDB PAPI Day

IFR/VFR1130-1430

Tura SG 2044 3675 NDB Day VFR 0900-1600

Meghalaya

29

– 1 airport (operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Dimapur AAI 487 7500 38DVOR/ DME, NDB, ILS

HIRL, PAPI

Day IFR/VFR

0930-1730

Nagaland

30

– 4 airports (3 non-operational)

Airport Owner Elev. (ft)

Runway Length (ft)

PCN Nav Facilities

Ground Lighting Facilities

Night Landing

Watch Hrs

Agartala AAI 47 7500 64DVOR/ DME, NDB, ILS

HIRL, PAPI

Day/Night IFR/VFR

0930-1730

Kamalpur AAI 128 4500 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Khowai AAI 100 3000 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Kailashahar AAI 90 3300 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Tripura

31

Greenfield Airports in NER• Proposed Greenfield Airports – 03

– Itanagar– Cheithu– Pakyong

32

Pakyong Airport• Gangtok (Sikkim) for ATR 72 Aircraft

– Estimated project cost – 358.36 crores– Work started in Jan 2009– Runway dimensions

• 1700 m x 30m• 02/20

– Likely to be completed by June 2012

33

Cheithu Airport• Kohima (Nagaland) for ATR 72 Aircraft

– Estimated project cost - Rs. 954 crores– DPR approved by State Govt.– To be fully funded by Govt.– Estimated cost under consideration by Public

Investment Board

34

Itanagar Airport• For ATR 72 aircraft

– Proposal costing Rs. 812 crores submitted to Public Investment Board in Mar 2010

– Evaluation report of alternate site (Holangi) suggested by State Govt.

– Firmed up decision from State Govt. regarding new site awaited

– To be funded 90% by Govt. grant and 10% by Ministry of DoNER or alternately fully funded by Govt.

35

Kokrajhar/Rupsi Airport• Pre Feasibility Study for construction of New

Green Field Airport at Kokrajar conducted by AAI • Report indicates site not suitable• Bodo Land Territorial Council (BTC)/State Govt.

requested to identify another site• BTC agreed for Rupsi instead of Kokrajhar• Airport under consideration for handing over to

IAF for development, operations and maintenance under joint user MOU

36

Development of Airports in Arunachal Pradesh

• Along, Pasighat and Ziro to be developed by MOD as per directions of PMO– MOU signed between AAI/SG/MOD

• Daporijo and Tezu to be developed by AAI

37

Government Commitment and Initiatives

38

Government Commitment

• To improve airport and infrastructural facilities• To provide better air links within the North-East

and with rest of the country• Alliance Air providing air connectivity in North-

East Region from 2003 onwards with subsidy from NEC:– Rs. 35.00 crores in 2003– Rs. 38.50 crores in 2008– Rs. 47.07 crores in 2009

39

Government Initiatives

• Initial NOC granted to:– Sky King Aviation in Aug., 2006 for scheduled air

services within North-East region– Surya Air in Oct 2006 for non-scheduled operations

within North-East region– Zav Air in Jan 2009 for scheduled regional services in

East and North-East region• However, no one commenced air services in NER

as of now

40

Government Initiatives

• As of now, Government initiatives of improving air connectivity through– Compliance of Route Dispersal Guidelines– NEC grant

• Route Dispersal Guidelines not sufficient to take care of air connectivity issues of NER in an objective manner

41

Committee on Air Connectivity Issues

• To review air connectivity issue, Committee constituted by MoCA under the Chairmanship of Joint Secretary

• Committee suggested following measures for overall improvement of air connectivity in NER:– Modification of Route Dispersal Guidelines– Regional Air Connectivity Fund (RACF)– Promoting RSOPs– Code share between RSOPs/NSOPs and SOPs/NSOPs– Promotion of low cost airports

42

Recommendations of Committee

• Salient recommendations of the Committee on overall improvement of air connectivity are:– Regional Air Connectivity Fund to be established for

explicit subsidy to airlines to operate on routes with PLF below 50%, new routes and to 19 routes with high tourism potential

– States a should also share subsidy burden under RACF– NSOPs should be treated as an important tool of

providing regional connectivity – Code Sharing may be allowed between SOPs and

NSOPs 43

Recommendations of Committee

• Salient Recommendations .... Contd– States to play proactive role in enhancing connectivity

through deployment/activation of low cost airports, underwriting of airline operations, reduction of taxes on ATF

– RSOPs to be allowed to fly to metro of another region on hopping basis

– Smaller aircraft be deployed within NER for better air connectivity as majority of scheduled domestic airlines have bigger aircraft which are not suitable for intra North-East operations owing to infrastructure and demand constraints 44

Recommendations of Committee

• Salient Recommendations .... Contd– Airlines may be permitted to shuffle/select routes

within Cat II/IIA in NER, without seeking prior approval of the Government as long as their number of flights to North East are not reduced

– Additional capacity in future in NER be deployed in the States of Meghalaya and Nagaland only subject to market demand and adequate airport infrastructure

45

Recommendations of Committee

• Salient Recommendations .... Contd– 1/3rd of RACF to be used for subsidy to Low Cost

Airports/Helipads & Heliports– 225 State and Private Airports to be used for

commercial operations. Emphasis should be on small low cost regional airports

– AAI to enter into management contract with States to activate their airports

– All districts must have at least one all-weather helipad to promote helicopter operations

46

Recommendations of Committee

• Salient Recommendations .... Contd– Lump sum charges on small aircraft at low cost

airports– Activation of already existing airports/airstrips should

be exempted from the 150 kms limitation as they are not Greenfield airports

47

Study for Better Air Connectivity in NER

• Comprehensive study to address:– Traffic forecast in North-East region – Air connectivity issues– Airport development based on demand– Feasibility study on regional operations within NE region– Feasibility study on helicopter operations within NE region– Overall quantum of financial implication for improvement in air

connectivity and airport infrastructure

• Study planned to be conducted by appointment of reputed consultant

48

Study for Better Connectivity in NER

• Detailed Terms of Reference prepared by DGCA in consultation with Ministry of DoNER

• Study to be funded by NEC• EOI published in Mar 2011

– 14 EOIs received– Five organisations short-listed– Three organisations submitted financial bid– Financial bid to be opened on 3rd Nov 2011

• Time frame of study would be approx six months

49

Summary• Infrastructure facilities required at airports in North-

East Region– Night landing facilities at all airports (currently available

at Guwahati, Agartala and Imphal)– Navigational aids required at all airports– Facilities for Hangars/Security for night stop base aircraft

• Need for morning/evening convenient air connectivity from State Capitals to National Capital

• Setting up of an Aviation Training Academy in the North-East

50

Thank you

51