High fly: The UDAN scheme which has given airports to Jharkhand’s Deoghar and other small cities
High fly: The UDAN scheme which has given airports to Jharkhand’s Deoghar and other small cities
“A common man who travels in slippers should also be seen in the aircraft. This is my dream,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said. Today, he is taking yet another step toward fulfilling his dream, as he will inaugurate an airport at Jharkhand’s Deoghar on Tuesday, the foundation stone for which was laid by him in May 2018.
The much-awaited Deoghar Airport has been constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 400 crore. It will provide direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country, and is equipped to handle over five lakh passengers every year.
The airport, the second international one after Ranchi in Jharkhand, is part of the ambitious UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, launched by the Narendra Modi government on 27 April 2017.
पवित्र श्रावण मास के शुभारंभ से ठीक पहले पावन नगरी देवघर के बाबा बैद्यनाथ मंदिर में दर्शन और पूजन का सौभाग्य प्राप्त होगा। 12 जुलाई को यहां एयरपोर्ट के उद्घाटन का भी सुअवसर मिलेगा। इससे श्रद्धालुओं के लिए बाबाधाम की यात्रा और आसान होगी, साथ ही झारखंड के पर्यटन को बढ़ावा मिलेगा। pic.twitter.com/kKEYbsBzx4
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 11, 2022
What is the UDAN scheme?
This initiative by the Centre aims to connect India’s small and medium cities with the big metros through air service. However, this is possible only if small cities have an airport facility, something that the government has strived to provide in the last five years.
The scheme has connected the country’s under-served airports – the ones that do not have more than a flight a day – and underserved airports – where there are no operations.
Under the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), five airlines won bids to operate on 128 routes, connecting 70 airports in 2017 when UDAN was launched. Back then of the 70 airports, 31 were unserved and 12 under-served, according to a report in The Indian Express.
Which states have benefitted because of UDAN?
Under the UDAN scheme, 98 airports, 33 heliports and 12 aerodromes were selected. By last year, air service was being provided on more than 359 routes at 59 airports along with five heliports and two aerodromes.
The flights under UDAN connect airports across 20 states and Union Territories. Some states which have benefitted include Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Some of the small cities and towns which have got or will get airports are Deogarh, Bhatinda, Shimla, Bilaspur, Neyveli, Cooch Behar, Nanded, Kadapa, and Imphal.
How expensive are the tickets?
Around 11 operatives provide tickets at affordable prices under UDAN. Around 50 per cent of seats on a one-hour flight cost Rs 2,500.
Which airlines operate on these routes?
When the scheme was launched, SpiceJet and Air India subsidiary Allied Air Services won the bid to operate airlines. Air Odisha Aviation won the maximum number of bids with 50 routes under its wing followed by Air Deccan (34) and Turbo Megha Airways (18), The Indian Express reported.
In April 2021, IndiGO started 14 new flights under UDAN on various routes including Bhubaneswar-Allahabad, Bhubaneswar-Varanasi, Bhopal-Allahabad, Dibrugarh-Dimapur, Shillong-Agartala and Shillong-Silchar. GoAir too has partnered with the government.
What are some of the milestones?
In April 2017, Narendra Modi inaugurated the first flight from Shimla to Delhi on Thursday under the subsidy-led regional connectivity scheme with fares starting at about Rs 2,000.
In September 2018, Sikkim got its first airport. Modi inaugurated Pakyong Airport in East Sikkim district, connecting Gangtok to India’s air network map. In the same month, the Jharsuguda airport in Odisha also started operations. The Jharsuguda airport was developed for all-weather operations, including night operations in the mineral belt of Odisha.
In February 2019, the new Kurnool airport in Andhra Pradesh was connected to Vijaywada and Hyderabad. Five airports of Andhra Pradesh – Kadapa, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati – are connected to seven new cities.
In November 2020, the first direct flight operations from Kalaburagi, Karnataka to Hindon Airport, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh started.
In August 2021, the first direct flight between Imphal in Manipur and Shillong in Meghalaya was flagged off. Because of the non-availability of a direct mode of transportation, the journey would take more than a day. Now the travel time has been reduced to 60 mins from Imphal to Shillong and 75 mins from Shillong to Imphal.
What can be expected in the future?
Tripura will be connected with Bangladesh’s Dhaka and Chittagong through direct flights from the Agartala airport, as the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has given a nod to the routes.
In 2019, the government invited bids for three unserved airports and airstrips in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and one underserved airport in Lakshadweep Island under the fourth round of the regional air connectivity scheme. The list of unserved airports/airstrips are Campbell Bay and Car Nicobar and Shibpur in Andaman & Nicobar. In Lakshadweep Island, it is at Agatti.
The list of water aerodromes up for bidding in Andaman & Nicobar are Hutbay, Long Island, Neil Island and Havelock, while Minicoy and Kavaratti are in Lakshadweep, reports Business Standard.
The Airports Authority of India is developing the Bokaro airport in Jharkhand to start scheduled flight operations and it will be connected to Patna and Kolkata through the regional connectivity scheme.
How many airports have started operations?
Before 2014, India had 74 airports, but in seven years, 66 new airports have been established taking the total to 140 airports, including heliports and water domes as of April 2022.
Under the UDAN scheme, more than 420 routes are operational as of June 2022. More than 1.79 lakh flights have flown under this scheme. UDAN scheme has immensely benefited several sectors pan-India including the country’s hilly states, north-eastern region, and islands.
With inputs from agencies
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