International Udan takes off with Spicejet's Guwahati-Dhaka flight

SpiceJet will launch a Guwahati-Dhaka flight from July 1 under the International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS).

This is the first flight under the IACS scheme, also referred to as International Udan. The promotional price for a one-way trip between Guwahati and Dhaka will cost Rs 3,355.

SpiceJet was selected in January to operate flights to Dhaka and Bangkok under the Assam government's initiative to boost international connectivity.

The state government is providing an annual viability gap funding of Rs 11 crore for the two routes.

Initially, Assam had proposed to connect Guwahati with six overseas destinations -- Dhaka, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Yangon, and Kathmandu, but it received valid bids for only two routes.

A civil aviation ministry official said bids for more routes would be considered after an assessment of how the two routes pan out.

The Andhra Pradesh government, too, had proposed to connect Vijayawada with Dubai and Singapore under the scheme. However, bids were not invited due to issues related to bilateral traffic rights, according to the official.

Shilpa Bhatia, chief sales and revenue officer, SpiceJet said the airline is delighted to participate in the scheme.