Fresh auctions of UDAN routes that are yet to take off; short-bidding round aimed at faster awards

To give a boost to regional air connectivity, the civil aviation ministry has initiated a short-bidding round under its flagship scheme, UDAN, sources told FE.

UDAN 5.3 focuses on those routes whose awards were cancelled by the ministry.

Last year, the ministry cancelled over 500 of the total of 1,300 routes that were awarded under the scheme, as the operators of these routes had not shown any signs of starting services.

Now that 519 of the 750-odd routes have become operational, the new round focuses on the remaining routes.