Connecting Regions and Hearts

Mihir Paul

The UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) is planned to activate dormant airports and add new runways and routes to foster business, tourism, and most importantly, make air travel affordable for everyone. When it was initially announced by the ministry of civil aviation in 2017, many were doubtful whether it could be implemented properly. However, UDAN’s Round 1 took off successfully connecting 16 new regional airports in the first round of bids. And now UDAN is well on its way into concluding Round 2.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the UDAN - Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)

After the second round of bidding in UDAN, as of now, air travellers can fly with known names such as Jet Airways, IndiGo and Pawan Hans all over the country. In all, 109 regional airports and heliports have been connected.

The second round saw several Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such as Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir join the network. Besides these airports, 14 helipads in Uttarakhand, eight in Arunachal Pradesh, six in Himachal Pradesh, five in Manipur and four in Assam have been pressed into service in UDAN 2, making it easier for people in these regions to fly to other cities.

UDAN Round 2 should be concluding soon, probably in the next month or so as operators have to start services within this time-frame after the award of the contract, subject to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) getting the airport/heliport ready.

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UDAN RCS gives India’s aviation sector a boost by giving a chance to small and first-time operators to be a part of the rapid growth in passenger traffic. According to latest statistics from the ministry of civil aviation, passenger traffic has grown by over 62 per cent in the four-year period between 2014 and 2018, as against 18 per cent in the preceding four-year period. Under the UDAN scheme, 27 airports are now operational in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. In the ports sector, traffic volume in major ports inc