The North Eastern Council (NEC) has set in motion a process to run a commercial airline between the landlocked states of the region. A global tender for the proposed airline, floated in May, will close on June 30.
NEC adviser (T&C) M S Sodhi said the North-Eastern Council would give subsidy to make the commercial air service economically viable.
At least a dozen more airports would be constructed in the region during the 11th Five-Year Plan in addition to the existing 11 airports, the official said.
Also detailed project reports to revive the non- functional airports like Rupsi, Kamalpur, Passighat and Tezu were being prepared by the Airports Authority of India.
"Though the tender process needs time and has to be approved by several ministries at the Centre, NEC intends to launch the air line service by January 1 next year," Sodhi said.
The basic objective of the airline would be to provide air connectivity to all the state capitals in the Northeast as well as other airports in the region including Bagdogra in north Bengal.
Further, it has plans to provide a schedule with a minimum frequency which allows for travel from one destination to another as well as to utilise the existing airline schedules to provide connectivity on trunk routes.
