BENGALURU: HAL on Sunday signed a lease agreement with Alliance Air Aviation Limited for the supply of two Civil Do-228 aircraft for regional operations in Arunachal Pradesh, which is seen as a major boost to India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
Apurba Roy, General Manager, Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur, HAL and Arun Kumar Bansal, Head of Engineering, Alliance Air Aviation Limited signed the deal papers in Bengaluru.
The HAL Do-228 is a versatile aircraft well-suited for operations in the North East and has the capabilities of short take-off and landing, ability to land and take-off from semi-prepared runways. This development opens new vistas in civil aviation for HAL.
HAL has said the defence public sector undertaking is keen on increasing its footprint in regional civil aviation by engaging more numbers of HAL Do-228 by air operators in India.
Attending the event virtually, Pema Khandu, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, said it was a big day for the state given the geographical challenges in the vast state, the connectivity will now be easier.
HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur, has been in the business of transport and trainer aircraft for defence customers. The division has ventured into manufacturing Hindustan-228 aircraft. The Hindustan-228 is a 19-seat multirole utility aircraft built for various applications such as VIP transport, passenger transport, air ambulance, flight inspection roles, cloud seeding, and recreational activities like para jumping, aerial surveillance, photography and cargo applications.
The Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr Chowna Mein, the Home Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Bamang Felix, the Chief Secretary of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr Naresh Kumar, Secretary (Civil Aviation) of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr Swapnil Nayak attended the event virtually through a video conference.
Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), R Madhavan, Chairman & Managing Director, HAL, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, MoCA, and senior officials from HAL, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India were also present at the event.