Low cost airline SpiceJet on Monday started the first ever Guwahati-Dhaka direct flights. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the first flight ‘SG 78’ at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport here.
The Bombardier Q400 aircraft will depart Guwahati at 11.55 am, while it will leave Dhaka at 2. 10 pm (local time) every day.
“We are now looking to connect all the capitals of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) countries with Guwahati,” chief minister Sonowal said while speaking at the launch function.
Sonowal said that the State government in this regard has already requested the Civil Aviation Ministry to do the needful.
SpiceJet chief marketing officer Debojo Maharshi informed the daily flight has been launched under the International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS).
“We believe the tremendous success of Regional Connectivity Scheme can be replicated in IACS as well; thereby making international air travel much more affordable and convenient for Indians,” he added.
Bangladesh Assistant High Commissioner in India, Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur, said this new flight will be a turning point in the history of connectivity between the two regions.
“Before 1947, Bangladesh and Assam were part of the same region. Every day, 4,000 patients come to India for treatment, but they go to Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. Now, they can come to Guwahati too as it has many good hospitals,” he added.