Why is Air Travel preferred in North Eastern States of India?

Firstly, the north-eastern states of India are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. Due to numerous factors, airways are preferred in the northeastern states as compared to other modes of transport.

Advantages of airways

1. Airways can smoothly cover difficult terrains.
2. It is the most convenient method of traveling to inaccessible areas i.e. the areas wherever land and water transport are significant time to consume and exhausting.
3. It is the fastest mode of transport.
4. It is luxurious and comfortable.

The reasons why the north-eastern states prefer airways

The northeast part of India consists of massive rivers, compound relief, dense forests, frequent floods, and in particular, international frontiers. These factors build aviation as a convenient mode of transportation in these areas. It’s solely within the northeastern states that special provisions are created to increase the services to all people.

Lack of proper road route to the northeast. We all know that Bangladesh divides northeast India from the Indian subcontinent which leaves only a small area of land across the Himalayas to build roadways to connect the Indian subcontinent with northeast India. Accessing northeast India through these roads is a tedious process as they are enclosed by hills and mountains.

The less frequent trains also play a vital role in people of northeast India preferring airways over trains. The subsidy is given by the government of India on the airfares to places in northeast India. The subsidy makes plane tickets more affordable to all and hence people choose air transport over others. By choosing airways they also save a lot of time in travel.

Sample Questions

Question 1: How many airports are there in northeast India?

Answer:

At present, there are fifteen airports in northeast India. They are located in Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur, Lilalabari, and Rupsi (Assam), Tezu and Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh), Agartala (Tripura), Imphal (Manipur), Shillong (Meghalaya), Dimapur (Nagaland), Lengpui (Mizoram) and Pakyong (Sikkim).

Question 2: What subsidy is given by the government of India to the northeast on airfares?

Answer:

Ministry of Food Processing Industries provides a 50% subsidy on fruits and vegetables by air travel from the north-eastern and Himalayan states according to Operation Greens Scheme.

Question 3: What international borders do northeast states of India share?

Answer:

Northeast Indian states share borders with Nepal (Indo-Nepal), China (Indo-China), Bangladesh (Indo-Bangladesh), and Myanmar (Indo-Myanmar).