Government to soon award new subsidised flight routes under UDAN

NEW DELHI : The government is planning to soon award fresh routes under its regional connectivity scheme Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik or UDAN to make travelling to the hills, the northeast region and Indian’s islands easier and cost effective.

The government wants to ensure that the convenience of air travel is available to the underserved parts of the country through a demand driven scheme, which is subsided by the central and state governments.

Centre provides viability gap funding to airlines and waives certain airport charges to make these services sustainable, while states waive local levies on jet fuel. In the last three rounds, the Centre had awarded over 600 regional connectivity routes to airlines. Up and down services connecting two airports are taken as two routes.