The task force report, which was submitted to the government, has said that the purchase of 50-seaters should be speeded-up for providing reliable and economical air services in the north east.

The report endorses the views of Union civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar who is strongly in favour of procuring the ATR-42 aircraft for IA for use on short-haul flights and in the north east. However, the IA top brass has consistently opposed the purchase of the 50-seaters as an internal study found that the operation of these aircraft will not be cost effective for the airline.

Jet Airways has already finalised the acquisition of five 64-seater aircraft while Sahara Airlines plans to acquire 30-seaters soon. The task force report has further suggested that Guwahati shouldbe developed as a hub station and main base for the 50-seater operation of domestic airlines as the city is a focal point for intra-regional air links in the north east. It also distributes air traffic to Calcutta and other metros.

The Task Force on Airport Infrastructure made a detailed analysis of the air transport services of the seven sisters comprising of Assam, Meghalya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

The other major recommendations made by the task force include creation of a civil aviation development fund and sharing of revenue at defence airports with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The civil aviation development fund would be administered by a board constituted by the civil aviation ministry and utilised to finance aviation infrastructure development and to subsidise unviable but essential air services such as those in the north east.