11 Airlines Bid To Start Subsidised Flights To Remote Airports Under UDAN Scheme

Eleven airlines in the country, including Air India, SpiceJet Ltd and TruJet, have sent their bids to the government to start subsidised flights from unconnected airports that lie in remote parts of the country, under the UDAN scheme. Under this scheme, introduced by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, the government will cap fares and will offer subsidy and tax incentives to the operators.

According to an official quoted by Mint, unscheduled operators, who have small aircraft suited for serving airports with a small number of passengers, are the ones who have mostly applied. According to the daily, operators will be selected through the process of “reverse bidding”. Routes will be allotted to operators after counter bids are received in the coming days.

On Tuesday, Sinha said, “UDAN is a step change for Indian aviation”. The first flight could start as early as February, the minister added.

Under this scheme, according to Mint, the fare for a “one-hour journey of about 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or a 30-minute journey on a helicopter will be capped at Rs 2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different lengths and duration”. As many as 43 non-operational airports in the country are expected to be connected under the scheme, taking the number of operational airports in the country from 75 to 118.