The first direct FlyBig flight between New Delhi and Shillong took off on December 21 with Meghalaya transport minister Sniawbhalang Dhar and others flying in the FlyBig flight and landing at the Shillong airport at Umroi.
The flight is weekly once and they are expected to operate two days a week from January 4, 2021. The Meghalaya government has partnered with FlyBig to operate the direct flight in New Delhi-Shillong and Shillong-New Delhi routes.
Speaking at the inaugural function at the Shillong airport, the transport minister said that it was a momentous occasion for the state and would go down in history as a day when Meghalaya was directly connected by air with the national capital for the first time.
Dhar thanked chief minister Conrad Sangma for taking the initiative for the project to ensure that the people of the state are gifted with this “wonderful present during this festive season” and also lauded the effort of the transport department and the Meghalaya Transport Corporation who, he said “worked very hard to ensure that this flight becomes a reality”.
Dhair also said that with the commencement of the flight, the aspiration of the people of the state to have a direct flight connection with the national capital had been realized.
FlyBig partnered with Meghalaya government to run New Delhi-Shillong flight
FlyBig was awarded the contract for this route through tender floated by the Meghalaya Transport Corporation at the beginning of the year.
FlyBig has partnered with the Meghalaya government to operate the New Delhi-Shillong and Shillong-New Delhi direct flights twice a week initially.
The state government is hopeful that FlyBig will make the flight operations on a daily basis once the traffic demand increases.
To commence operations immediately, FlyBig chief executive officer, Captain Srinivas Rao informed that they have made arrangements to operate a 75-seater Bombardier Q400 charter for the Delhi-Shillong-New Delhi direct flight.
Calling it a historical day, chief minister Conrad K Sangma expressed his gratitude to prime minister Narendra Modi and Union civil aviation minister Hardeep S Puri and dedicated it to the development of Meghalaya.
“This will connect Meghalaya better with the national capital and will bring major boost to the state’s tourism. We dedicate this to the development of our state,” the chief minister tweeted.
Sangma also expressed his gratitude to Union DoNER minister Jitendra Singh.
