New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS): Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday announced three direct routes from Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar under the 'Udan 5.0 scheme'.

While inaugurating the newly developed infrastructure of Tezu Airport in Arunachal Pradesh, Scindia said that flights from Itanagar to Delhi, Itanagar to Jorhat (Assam), and Itanagar to Rupsi (Assam) will be operational soon.

Scindia said that over 2.50 lakh UDAN flights have helped more than 1.37 crore people travel under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN scheme.

Making a comparison with 2014, Scindia said that till 2014 there were no airports in Arunachal Pradesh and in the span of nine years, four new airports have been developed and operationalised.

"The new terminal building at Tezu will further enhance the connectivity of the region and play a vital role in the economic development of the region," he said.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) undertook the development and upgradation work to operationalise Tezu Airport at the request of the state government.

"The work undertaken for Rs 170 crore includes the extension of the runway (1500m x 30m) and the construction of a new apron for 2 ATR 72 type aircraft, construction of a new terminal building, and a fire station cum ATC Tower," he said.

Tezu airport was operationalised in 2018 under the RCS-UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The airport is currently connected to Dibrugarh, Imphal and Guwahati through regular scheduled flights by Alliance Air and FlyBig Airline.