On Tuesday, the first commercial service by a ‘Made in India’ aircraft connected Dibrugarh in Assam and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, boosting air traffic in the northeast with the rest of India.

The 17-seater Dornier 228 aircraft, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is one of only two leased by public sector enterprise Alliance Air to connect Dibrugarh with five Arunachal Pradesh locations – Pasighat, Ziro, Tezu, Mechuka, and Tuting – as part of the Centre’s UDAN initiative.

Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was among the first passengers, tweeted, “Overjoyed and proud to embark on the 17-seater ‘Made in India’ Dornier 228 aircraft in its first-ever maiden service.”

“This will connect Arunachal Pradesh’s airstrips with Assam, and soon with other regions.” “This is, indeed, a new chapter in India’s ‘Look East’ policy,” he added. Kiren Rijiju, the Union Law and Justice Minister from Arunachal Pradesh, was also present.

Following the transfer of technology from the German firm, HAL has been manufacturing the Dornier aircraft. This is the first time that India’s sole civil aircraft has been used for commercial passenger transport.