Made-In-India Dornier Plane To Make First Commercial Flight On Dibrugarh-Pasighat Route Today

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will be present during the ocassion.

Ground staff stand next to a Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Dornier Do 228 aircraft on display at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, on March 11, 2020 | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: First commercial flight of made-in-India Dornier 228 aircraft will be deployed for first commercial flight on Dibrugarh-Pasighat route on Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Monday, reported news agency PTI. 

The Centre-run Alliance Air had signed an agreement with the government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in February to lease two 17-seater Dornier 228 aircraft. The airline received its first Dornier 228 plane on April 7.

In a statement, the airlines said that its first flight will take off on Tuesday between Dibrugarh in Assam and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh to boost connectivity in the northeastern states. 

Alliance Air said that it will be India's first commercial airline to operate an Indian-made aircraft for civil operations.

Meanwhile the first flying training organisation will also be inaugurated at Lilabari, Assam, on Tuesday, it mentioned.

The occasion of Dornier 228's first flight and the flying training organisation's opening will be attended by Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. 

Till date, Dornier 228 planes are used by the armed forces only. 

The Make in India initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 as parrt of wider nation building initiatives. The government has been giving special attention to the scheme. 

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue urged American companies to come and invest in India and support the Make in India programme, reported news agency PTI. 

"I have insisted that India should focus on co-developmental productions and all the investors should come to India. They are welcome. And because in India they can develop the 'Make in India' because we want to build and make everything in India," Singh told reporters in response to a question.