India to celebrate 2011 as aviation centenary year

Tuesday January 04, 2011 10:14:48 PM, IANS

New Delhi: India will celebrate the completion of 100 years of the first commercial flight on Feb 18, by declaring 2011 as Civil Aviation Centenary Year, an official said Tuesday.

"The year 2011-12 will be declared as the Civil Aviation Centenary Year, starting from Feb 18, 2011 and ending on the same date in 2012," a civil aviation ministry spokesperson said.

The historic first flight took place on Feb 18, 1911, when the first commercial plane flew in the Indian skies between Allahabad and Naini.

The first commercial international flight, connecting the national capital to Karachi and beyond took place in 1912 and was operated by the erstwhile Imperial Airways.

According to the statement, the decision on events and celebrations to mark the centenary year will be taken by a high level committee constituted by the civil aviation ministry.

"The committee will deliberate upon the period of celebrations, formulate an action plan for the entire year and decide events which may be undertaken during the centenary years," the statement said.

During the year, activities like air shows, establishment of an air and space theme park/museum and an aviation university have been planned.

The statement said that the private sector would a major partner in the upcoming events and celebrations.

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