The people from Dibrugarh in Upper Assam will be able to reach Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, within hours as aircraft will soon connect the two places under UDAN 4.0 scheme.

Announcing this, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) on its Twitter handle on Friday said:  “UDAN 4.0 brings regions close, destinations closer! The connectivity between Dibrugarh, an emerging industrial hub of North East India and Shillong, a fast emerging education hub for the entire North East region, will open new horizons for these two places.”

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The Union aviation ministry launched the 4th round of UDAN in December 2019 with a special focus on Northeastern, hilly states, and islands.

The aviation ministry has awarded several routes under UDAN 4 in line with the Act East Policy of the Central government.

After Coronavirus-induced lockdown, flights have started operating.

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“6 flights operated today at Dibrugarh Airport, bringing 406 incoming passengers & 393 outgoing passengers,” the Dibrugarh Aiport authority said in a tweet on Thursday.

“Vistara & Air India operated 1 flight while Indigo operated 4 flights. The connections from/to Delhi, Guwahati & Kolkata,” it added.

Meanwhile, the Shillong Airport authority on its Twitter handle on Thursday said: “Today, the new ACFT was tested for breaking performance under various speeds like 33 kmph, 66kmph, etc. at #AAI’s #ShillongAirport. The test was carried out while it was raining.”

Since its inception, the Aviation ministry has operationalised 274 UDAN routes that have connected 45 airports and three heliports.

The fourth round of bidding under the UDAN commenced on December 3 last year.

The scheme sought to connect unserved and underserved airports as well as make flying more affordable.

Under the UDAN scheme, Shillong will have flights to 7 Northeast cities and towns including Guwahati, Agartala, Dimapur, Imphal, Pasighat, Dibrugarh and Silchar.