‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik’ (UDAN) scheme of the Central government, which has helped in improving air connectivity to many tier-2 and tier-3 cities across the country with affordable airfares, has not just been a non-starter in Punjab but also cost the state exchequer dearly.
Of the 5 planned stations across the state, where UDAN was scheduled to kickstart, after its initiation by the Union aviation ministry in 2016, only Amritsar witnessed implementation of this scheme but air traffic operations at this airport under the scheme is no more operational.
The scheme has failed to take-off in Ludhiana, Pathankot, Adampur (Jalandhar) and Bathinda airports, while most of these stations, as per aviation experts, have a vast scope for air traffic.
