Aviation: Modi government's big air-connectivity boost- all states on aerial connectivity map courtesy UDAN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious regional connectivity scheme -  Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) - has helped the government achieve a major landmark. Ministry of Civil Aviation has said that the UDAN scheme has brought all states on the aerial connectivity map. The ministry also listed out as many as 34 un-served and under-served airports, which have received regular flight connectivity under the scheme.

There are 21 un-served airports in the list - Bhatinda, Nanded, Shimla, Kandla, Ludhiana, Mysore, Vidyanagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jalgaon, Ozar, Mundra, Salem, Pathankot, Kolhapur, Adampur, Jagdalpur, Kanpur, Jharsuguda, Pakyong, and Kishangarh. However, 13 airports were in the underserved category. These are Kadapa, Gwalior, Porbandar, Pondicherry, Agra, Jamnagar, Diu, Tezpur, Shillong, Bhavnagar, Hubli, Allahabad, and Jorhat.

Now all states are on the aerial connectivity map by virtue of #UDAN. #UdanUtsav pic.twitter.com/ZVdTTVKDbu

— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) December 7, 2018

Air Odisha had received the license to operate flights from Jharsuguda Airport in Odisha. However, its licenses were cancelled following the airline's inability to operate a flight from the airport despite repeated notices.

"Jharsuguda is already a full-fledged operational airport. Due to the default of an airline connectivity, unfortunately, got adversely affected. We are very hopeful that this potential airport will soon be connected in the ongoing UDAN 3 bidding round," Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, had said.

The regional connectivity scheme covers a route length between 200 to 800 km with no lower limit set for hilly, remote, island and security sensitive regions.

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Since the launch of UDAN Scheme, 13 states have got more than 4 airports, before UDAN it was 7 states. Kerala has become the first state with four international airports after Kannur International Airport's inauguration on December 9.

The UDAN scheme, announced in October 2016, seeks to connect unserved and under-served airports in the country at an affordable price. The fare under the scheme has been capped at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour flight.

The ministry has awarded more than 450 domestic routes under the UDAN to various operators in two rounds since March 2017. It is also working on the third round of the scheme.