All You Need To Know About UDAN Scheme

To boost air transport, utilise unused airports, provide job opportunities and connect the country by air, the government introduced the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik  scheme (UDAN) or Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). This scheme aims to develop and enhance the existing operational airports and add 100 new financially-viable routes to connect underserved or unserved airports.

In April 2017, the first flight under the UDAN scheme took off between Shimla and Delhi and now in March 2018, the first flight in Tamil Nadu became operational between Salem and Chennai.

Here are the key highlights of the UDAN Scheme:

The components: The UDAN Scheme has two key components. The first being the development of new and enhancement of the existing and operational airports in the country. This will be aimed at equipping these airports to handle civilian domestic flights. Under this over 100 underserved and unserved regional airports will be developed by December 2018. This will be done at an initial funding of Rs 45,000 million for 50 airports.

In the second component, several hundred financially-viable capped-airfare regional air routes will be operated to connect over 100 underserved and unserved airports in smaller towns. Each of these towns will be connected to airports of bigger cities. This will be done in three rounds of bidding that will be completed by the end of this year.

Participating airports: According to the project, the current number of targeted airports is 486. Of this, 39 airports were operational at the beginning of the scheme – 27 well-served and 12 underserved airports. While 406 airports were unserved at the beginning of the scheme.

The scheme also includes some helicopter routes, including hill states of North-East, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and oceanic union territories of Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The operators: Of the many airline operators who bid to operate on 128 routes under this scheme, only a few have been awarded so far. These include IndiGo, Zoom Air Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan.

Fares: One of the striking features of this scheme is the fare. The government, under RCS, aims to cap the fares at Rs 2,500 per ticket per hour to make it affordable for common citizen. So, the caped fares are based on distance. For instance, Rs 1,420 will be the ticket price for a distance of 151–175 km, Rs 1,500 for a distance of 176–200 km, with a ceiling of maximum Rs 3,500 fare for a total distance of 800 km or more.

In case of helicopter flights the fares are set based on the duration of the flight. So, the cap of Rs 2,500 is applicable for a 30-minute journey on a helicopter. For a flight of 31 to 35 minutes the fare is Rs 2,900. The maximum fare is Rs 5,000 for a total flight duration of 60 minutes or more.

Routes operational: Some of the routes that have become operational under the scheme include Jammu-Bhatinda route, Chennai-Salem route, Shimla-Delhi route and Kadapa-Hyderabad-Nanded route.

Budget 2018: The scheme saw a special mention in Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Budget Speech. The finance minister said that over 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads will become operational this year to provide regional air connectivity.

Benefitting other schemes: The UDAN scheme is further expected to accelerate other infrastructural projects, including Bharatmala project, Sagarmala project, Dedicated Freight Corridors, Industrial corridors, BharatNet, Digital India, Make in India, National e-Governance Plan, Startup India and Standup India