Allahabad airport will be ready by December 2018: UP Civil Aviation Minister

Nand Gopal Gupta, the Uttar Pradesh Civil Aviation Minister, in an exclusive talk with Zee Business's Sameer Dixit said, "The state is fully prepared to host the Kumbh Mela to be held in Allahabad and Allahabad airport will be ready by December 2018." Notably, Allahabad Kumbh Mela will be held from January 15 to March 4, 2019. 

Gupta said that after being developed, Allahabad Airport will be connected with 13 other cities of the countries, like Hyderabad, Nagpur, Mumbai, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Dehradun, Indore, Kolkata, Raipur, Pune and Patna in next 15 months. In addition, 11 major cities of the state, like Kushinagar, Agra, Jewar, Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Allahabad among others will be connected through the airstrip. He also said that other 22 cities like Chitrakoot, Azamgarh, Bareli, Aligarh, Jhansi and Moradabad among others will be connected with Air Routes. 

Talking about Jewar Airport, Gupta said that the land acquisition process for the airport will be completed by the end of 2018. He estimates that the Jewar airport will be developed at an estimated investment of Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore. 

Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - Udan 
Under RCS plans are to connect these underserved airports to key airports through flights that will cost Rs 2,500 for per hour. RCS looks to provide a subsidy to airlines to offer these fares. AAI would invest Rs 17,500 crore in upgrading airport infrastructure over a period till 2019-20. This regional connectivity scheme will be applicable on route length between 200 to 800 km with no lower limit set for hilly, remote, island and security sensitive regions.

Watch this Zee Business video

Airports Authority of India (AAI) will connect 22 airports under regional connectivity scheme in the first phase. 22 airports include one is in Andaman Nicobar, three in Assam, two each in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.