NEW DELHI, Dec 19— The first ATR-42 50 seater aircraft arrived from France here today even as the Civil Aviation Ministry today announced the flight schedule for the regional air service in the North East, to be operated under Alliance Air. In all four aircraft would be put into operation connecting State capitals and other towns of the North east with Guwahati and Kolkata. Of the four, one will be based in Guwahati, while the other three will be based in Kolkata, which will be the maintenance base for the aircraft. The flight schedule was unveiled at a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, by the Civil Aviation Minister in Shahnawaz Hussain. The inaugural flight on December 25 will take off on the route Kolkata-Agartala via Guwahati and Dimapur.
According to the weekly schedule, Kolkata-Aizawl will have daily flights while Kolkata-Silchar will have nine flights. Guwahati-Agartala, Lilabari, Imphal will have daily flights in a week. Shillong will have three flights in a week to Kolkata while Silchar and Imphal will also have daily air connection. Guwahati for the first time will have daily air connection with Aizawl, while it will also have daily flights to Dimapur. Silchar and Agartala will also have daily air connection. The Civil Aviation Minister informed the members that while the first aircraft arrived today, two more are expected in the third week of this month. DONER has also released Rs 35 crore for improvement of air-connectivity in the north-eastern region.