Govt to absorb costs of airfare under regional connectivity scheme
Photo credit Twitter Jyotiraditya Scindia
By Sanjay Singh
New Delhi, November 5: Airfares under the UDAN scheme could come down, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government is all set to bring down the cost of travel for the non-metro airports. The aerial connectivity under the Regional Connectivity Scheme also called UDAN has got a major boost, with 1.93 lakh flights having operated since its inception in 2016.
Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said: “Under Udaan Yojana democratisation of the aviation sector took place and 1,93,000 flights were started based on viability gap funding in the last five years where government will also bear the cost for the tickets.”
The UDAN scheme was introduced to boost regional air connectivity and linking smaller towns and cities through air services. The government’s flagship programme — UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme) — was undertaken to help the affordable air travel. The Centre is now working on operationalising 100 unserved and underserved airports and at least 1,000 air routes under the UDAN scheme (`Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik`).
The scheme is aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and making air travel affordable. It is a key component of the Centre`s National Civil Aviation Policy led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and launched in June 2016. It has two components: The first one is to improve the existing airports and develop new ones for faster regional connectivity. The second is the addition of new, capped airfare and financially viable regional real roots. Now, India becomes the world`s third-largest market in aviation sector.
A major area of focus for the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been to better connect previously unserved and underserved 68 such destinations that include 58 airports, eight heliports and two water aerodromes. At the same time, the scheme has been able to initiate 425 new routes providing connectivity to 29 states and seven Union Territories across the nation.
Through the scheme, an approximate figure of about 1.2 crore passengers have been able to avail the benefits, providing a much-needed platform to regional carriers to scale up their operations. In a testament to the commitment that was made over eight years back that the Indian aviation industry would undergo a transformation, 425 routes have begun with 575 routes on track for implementation within the next half a decade. Another significant boost has been towards developing airport infrastructure with the target of 100 airports of which 68 have already been operationalised.
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