The Union government has set its sights on transforming the Northeast into a logistics and aviation hub, with a vision to connect India more seamlessly with Southeast Asia, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu declared on Thursday.
Addressing the third Northeast Aviation Summit and Regional Ministers' Conference on civil aviation at Itanagar, Naidu said the region has witnessed a dramatic expansion of connectivity in the past decade. All eight states are now linked by air, with the number of operational airports rising from nine in 2014 to 16 today.
“The Centre’s vision is to make the Northeast a logistics and aviation hub connecting India with Southeast Asia. By 2047, India will operate more than 350 airports. The Northeast will be central to this growth,” Naidu stated.
He pointed to a sharp increase in aircraft movements, which climbed from 51,000 in 2014 to more than 96,000 in 2024. “This reflects both the surge in demand and the faith of passengers in our aviation sector,” he added.
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International traffic from Guwahati, the gateway to the Northeast, has multiplied fivefold in the past year, largely on account of new services to Thailand.
Naidu said the Udaan regional connectivity scheme, launched in 2016, has been extended for another decade in a modified form. Describing it as the “biggest catalyser of regional aviation growth”, he noted that Udaan has already enabled more than 700 new routes, including in difficult terrain such as the Northeast, bringing air travel to smaller towns and remote areas.
Several major projects are underway or in the pipeline, the minister revealed. These include a new terminal at Imphal Airport by 2025, development of Tura Airport in Meghalaya, runway extension at Shillong Airport, and proposals for Kailashahar Airport in Tripura, a greenfield airport at Silchar, and a civil enclave at Jorhat.
The conference was attended by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, Arunachal’s Civil Aviation Minister Balo Raja, Assam minister Jogen Mohan, Sikkim Tourism Minister Tshering Thendup Bhutia, state Chief Secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, Airports Authority of India Chairman Vipin Kumar and senior civil aviation officials from across the region.
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