First flight under UDAN scheme to take off in February 2017

The first flight is likely to take off next month under the government’s ambitious regional connectivity scheme-UDAN. The scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Naagrik), seeks to boost regional air connectivity and provides various incentives to airlines. The fare for a one hour journey of approximately 500 kilometre on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter will be capped at two thousand 500 rupees under the scheme.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Minister of state for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said, Airports Authority of India has received 45 initial proposals from 11 bidders covering more than 190 routes under the scheme. He said, there are 75 operational airport in the country at present and 43 new airports will be added after the implementation of UDAN scheme.

The scheme was launched in October last year, which seeks to provide connectivity to un-served and under-served regions through revival of existing air strips and airports. The Minister said, the scheme is likely to give a major boost to tourism activities and employment generation in hinterland.