Eight Years Of UDAN: 601 Routes Now Active, Benefiting 1.44 Crore Flyers Across 71 Airports

As the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN approaches its 8th anniversary, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has highlighted its substantial progress since its launch in 2016.

Joint Secretary Asangba Chuba Ao stated that the scheme for benefiting around 1.44 crore passengers and operating 601 routes to date.

The UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) initiative, launched on 21 October, 2016, was designed to make air travel more affordable and accessible for the common citizen. It aims to boost regional air connectivity by providing subsidised fares on underserved routes.

The government will extend the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN for 10 more years, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said on Monday (21 October), reports The Hindu.

Financial incentives in terms of concessions from central, state governments and airport operators are extended to selected airline operators to encourage operations from unserved/underserved airports/heliports/water aerodromes and to keep the air fare affordable.

Regional Connectivity Fund is created by a levy on each departure of flights on aircraft having 'maximum take-off weight' above 40 tonnes except for the departure of flights on routes in North East Region, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.

For balanced regional growth, route allocations are spread equitably across five regions in the country — North, South, East, West and North East (with a cap of 30 per cent in a given region).

In celebration of the scheme's 8th year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for new airports in Varanasi, including facilities in Saharanpur, Rewa, and Ambikapur. These projects are part of a broader push to enhance regional air infrastructure under the UDAN program.