NEC floats third tender for dedicated airline

Even as the Indian aviation industry is going through rough weather, North Eastern Council has floated a third tender to rope in carriers to form an airline company for the north-eastern region.   

  
"We have floated a third tender and bidders should respond within October 30," NEC secretary Falguni Rajkumar told PTI.     

The airline company would be expected to fly 400 flights per month, connecting the region internally.     

Earlier, two tenders did not materialised after the bidders failed to comply with the requirements. NEC hopes the dedicated airline would materialise this time as the technical requirements for the carriers have been made flexible this time, he said.     

Three companies - state-run Allianz Air, Universal Empire and Ace Airlines - had bidded after the second global tender was floated in May. But they were rejected for their failure to meet the requirements as stated in the tender.     

The companies did not comply with the technical requirements, nor did they comply with the number of flights and the capability of the aircraft to land in small airfields, NEC sources said. 

    
The NEC wants to start a commercial airline service between the landlocked states of north-eastern region.

About 12 new airports have been planned to make operationalise in addition to the eleven existing airports.     

Concerns over economic viability has kept airline companies away from the project, even as the NEC has announced that the selected airline would get funds subsidy from the NEC.