Cheap Air Travel to Assam: Fly for Just ₹150!
In Assam, air travel is available for just 150 rupees, making it the cheapest flight in the country. This service is made possible through the government’s “Udan” (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, facilitated by Alliance Air. Operating from Tezpur to Lilabari Airport in Lakhimpur district, this flight is part of the airline’s route, with two flights daily, and has been consistently busy for the past two months.
By plane, the journey of four hours can be completed in just 25 minutes.
Alliance Air’s station manager Abu Taid Khan informed Bhasakar that if you are traveling from Tezpur to Lilabari by bus, it will take about 4 hours to cover the 216 km journey. Whereas, on this route, the aerial distance is 147 km, which the flight covers in just 25 minutes.
The one-way fare for this journey is Rs. 150 by bus, while the same route via flight from Kolkata costs Rs. 450. Since the airline has started with lower fares, the occupancy is up to 95%.
The ‘Udan’ scheme, initiated in 2017, has received a positive response in the Northeast. It has connected 73 airstrips across Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim under this scheme. Airlines such as Alliance Air, Flybig, and IndiGo are operating services here. Under this scheme, direct flights from Imphal to Shillong were launched in 2021.
Airport Authority of India officials have stated that to make fares affordable on this route, airlines are being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the UDAN scheme. This compensates the airlines for the losses incurred due to the difference between the actual and the predetermined fares.
