UDAN Scheme: 8 more air routes added

Civil Aviation Ministry  announced addition of 8 more air routes under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik), the regional air connectivity scheme. These air routes have become functional and started operations.

Key Highlights

Out of 8 routes added 2 are in northeast region.

New 8 Routes added are: Mysore-Goa, Goa-Mysore, Mysore-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Mysore, Mysore-Kochi, Kochi-Mysore, Kolkata-Shillong, and Shillong-Kolkata. Flights connecting Kolkata and Shillong will be served by IndiGo while others will be operated by Alliance Air.

With the addition of 8 new routes the total UDAN routes that are now operational in country has increased to 194.

Up till now the Civil Aviation Ministry has awarded a total of 705 routes under the UDAN scheme

About UDAN

UDAN or Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik is a regional connectivity scheme (RCS). It was scheme on 21 October 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable to masses.

Objective: It aims to make flying affordable besides connecting underserved and unserved airports across India.

Besides seeking boost to regional air connectivity it provides various incentives to airlines.

Need: India ranks as world’s 3rd-largest domestic aviation market. To tap this potential government has proposed to hike foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in domestic air carriers from existing 49%.

Way Ahead: The aviation sector in India is fast expanding its capacity expansion with addition of over 500 aircraft in coming years thereby also providing a significant opportunity for leasing and financing.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2019