Up In The Air: Nearly A Quarter More Flights To Operate This Winter, Expected Number Around 23,117

According to Union Aviation Ministry officials, 23,117 domestic flights will fly this winter across India. This represents an increase of 22 per cent over the same period last year. The Press Trust of India reported the story.

The winter schedule will run from October 28, 2018, to March 24, 2019. Reports suggest that average Indian citizens are increasingly using air travel as their preferred choice of travel between domestic cities. India is expected to be the third largest aviation market in the world by 2025, behind only China and the United States.

Reports say that airfares have also depicted a decreasing trend over the last decade, and now, an air ticket booked between Mumbai and Delhi costs less than an air-conditioned rail ticket on the same route, if booked in advance.

PM Modi inaugurated the Sikkim airport recently, taking the total number of airports in the country to 100. The NDA government has also launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), popularly known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) that caps the flight fares at Rs. 2,500 for every hour of flying on specific routes and seats.