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To further expand air connectivity in the northeastern region under the Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (RCS-UDAN) scheme of the central government, a new private airliner on Monday started flight operations between Assam's Guwahati and Arunachal Pradesh's Pasighat.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said that a flight of the private airliner Flybig on Monday started the direct flight services from Guwahati to Pasighat.

A water cannon salute was accorded to the flight at Pasighat.The AAI official said that this is the second flight services to Pasighat from Guwahati after Alliance Air had started direct flight services between Guwahati-Pasighat in 2018, an RCS-UDAN route.

Commercial operations of flights from the newly developed Rupsi Airport in western Assam began earlier this month under the RCS-UDAN scheme.

AAI officials said that the Rupsi airport would cater to the needs of air travellers from four western Assam districts and the neighbouring states of Meghalaya, West Bengal and parts of Bhutan as well.

There are 15 airports in the northeast region -- Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilalabari and Rupsi (Assam), Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland), Lengpui (Mizoram) and Pakyong (Sikkim).

The AAI is also developing the Hollongi airport in Arunachal Pradesh, boosting air connectivity in the mountainous areas.