For those of you dreaming to fly in an Indian Air Force plane, this is great news. You can now officially fly in an IAF plane, but only if you are going to the Andamans and Nicobar islands.
Yes, in a landmark move, the Indian Air Force has decided to fly civilian passengers to the Andamans and Nicobar islands. The Air Force, usually flies civilians in emergency situations, but it is now making an exception.
The idea is to improve connectivity and communication in the remote islands.
In an interview to PTI, Lt General A K Singh (Retd), Lt Governor of the union territory, said,
An extended Air India flight to Car Nicobar was withdrawn recently as the lease of the aircraft had expired after which they approached the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Civil Aviation to improve inter-island connectivity. The Defence ministry has now given us the aircraft for civilian use. We are collecting the airfare from passengers and paying the air force some charges based on the number of flying hour .
A Dornier 228 aircraft connects Port Blair with Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay and can carry up to 10 passengers.
Lt General A K Singh (Retd) further added,
“We are collecting the airfare from passengers and paying the air force some charges based on the number of flying hours. Our tickets are subsidised for islanders.”
All airbases, airstrips and helipads in the chain of islands are under the control of the defence. This new flight service comes as a welcome move, considering there is no adequate transport network available in the Islands.
Time to pack our bags and leave because the force be with us!