PM Modi’s UDAN scheme takes flight: Here is all you need to know

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated flight under the Regional Connectivity Scheme Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik or UDAN by flagging off the Alliance Airlines flight on Shimla-Delhi sector from Jubbar Hatti airport near Shimla.

Simultaneously, he will also flag off the inaugural UDAN flights on Nanded-Hyderabad and Kadapa-Hyderabad sectors. UDAN, a first-of-its-kind scheme globally aimed at correcting the imbalance in the domestic aviation market.

Also Read: UDAN makes air travel accessible to more people, says PM Modi

Here is all you need to know

• Over 45 unserved and under-served airports would be connected under the scheme — UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) that seeks to make flying more affordable

• Air India subsidiary Airline Allied Services, SpiceJet, Air Deccan, Air Odisha and Turbo Megha are part of this scheme

• Under the scheme each flight, 50 per cent of the seats would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour

• A minimum of 5 and a maximum of 13 on helicopters with the same price cap

• 13 airports in Tier II and Tier III cities which did not have many flights in a week will see more flights

• Some of the inactive airports selected are Shimla, Bikaner, Agra, Gwalior, Rourkela, Kadapa, Jharsuguda, Vidyanagar, Burnpur, Kullu, Diu, Mysore, Shillong, Jagdalpur, Salem, Utkela, and Hosur

• The amount is estimated to be around Rs 205 crore per annum for the operators chosen in the first round of bidding

• The regional airlines will connect these destinations with their nearest bigger airports such as Delhi, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Jaipur, among others

• 19 States and 3 Union Territories have signed a Memorandum of Understanding