UDAN: 73 airport and other aviation assets operationalised so far

A total of 73 unserved or underserved airports, including nine heliports and two water aerodromes, have been operationalised till January 2023 under the Centre's flagship Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme, the Rajya Sabha was told on Monday.

This information was given by Civil Aviation Minister of State VK Singh in a written reply.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation's flagship programme Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) has already completed five years. The first flight was launched in April 2017.

The scheme was initiated in October 2016 with the objective of fulfilling the aspirations of the common citizen, with an enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and tier III cities.

The government has approved the 'Revival of unserved and under-served airports' scheme for the revival and development of 100 unserved and under-served airports, helipad and water aerodromes by 2024.

It is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time for covering more destinations or stations and routes.

UDAN is a self-financing scheme. A viability gap funding worth Rs 2,355 crore has been released to selected airline operators so far for the operation of UDAN flights.

( With inputs from ANI )