By IANS,
New Delhi : Three airlines, including the state-run Alliance Air, have bid for operating a dedicated regional air carrier for the northeastern states, Minister for Development for North-Eastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar said Wednesday.
Ace Airlines and Universal Empire are the other two airlines that have submitted bids.
According to Aiyar, the new regional airline would start its operations by the end of this year. The operator will be offered subsidies from the North Eastern Council, he said.
The ministry is expecting to have around 400 flight services a month internally connecting the region by the end of 2009.
In August last year, the civil aviation ministry had announced a number of subsidies for airlines interested in operating in the region under a separate regional air carrier permit.
With Guwahati as the hub for the new regional airline, there are 11 operational airports in the northeast including Bagdogra, Tezpur, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Dimapur, Silchar, Agartala, Aizawal and Imphal.
At least 12 new airports are expected to be operational in the region by the end of 2008, and 25 new airports would come up by 2012.