India's regional airline Alliance Air has launched two routes to the newly opened Donyi Polo Airport (also called Hollangi airport) in Itanagar. The state-owned carrier operates a fleet of turboprops and focuses on tier-2 and -3 destinations in India. It has a large footprint in northeast India, and the latest flights are part of its commitment to regional expansion.
Two new routes
Alliance Air has started two new routes in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The carrier has launched flights on the Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Ziro and Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Pasighat routes.
India's aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually launched the flights. On Tuesday, Alliance Air began flights on the Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Ziro sector, with the aircraft taking off from Dibrugarh airport at 10.20 and arriving at Hollongi airport in Itanagar at 11:10. It then continued its onward journey, leaving Itanagar at 11:30 and reaching Ziro at 12:05.
The next day it followed a similar pattern with the Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Pasighat route. Alliance Air is using its Dornier 228 aircraft, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), allowing it to access smaller airfields in the northeast.
Hollongi Airport was recently made operational and has been developed under the Indian government's regional connectivity scheme called UDAN. It has a 2,300-meter-long runway, allowing Arunachal Pradesh to host large aircraft for the first time ever. Earlier this week, IndiGo, too, launched services from Itanagar to Mumbai and Kolkata.
Dornier 228
Alliance Air used the Indian-manufactured Dornier 228 airplane on these new routes, where the plane's compact size enables it to land at small-runway airports such as Ziro. The airline took delivery of the aircraft in April to expand its footprint further into the regional market of the country.
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Alliance Air is the first Indian airline to use the Dornier 228 for scheduled passenger-carrying flights. The 17-seater plane is capable of operating out of short and semi-prepared runways for day and night services and is often used for utility and commuter transport, air-taxi operations, coast guard duties, and maritime surveillance by the Indian Armed Forces.
It also recently inducted two brand-new ATR 42 aircraft and deployed them on several routes, including to the North Indian hilly destination Shimla where it returned after two years. The airline also has 18 ATR 72 airplanes in its fleet, of which 16 are in active service, according to ch-aviation.
International plans
Earlier this month, reports suggested that Alliance Air could offer flight connections to nearby countries in the future. The airline will reportedly focus on connecting smaller Indian cities with offshore destinations such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
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Alliance Air did operate a flight to Jaffna in Sri Lanka before the pandemic. Its fleet of short-range turboprops does limit its options to nearby destinations only, but it'll be interesting to see what new connections these flights might open once they become operational.
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