Kolkata: Udan — the regional air connectivity scheme — will finally take off in the region with Air Deccan set to start flights from Kolkata to various airports in the Northeast on April 26. Regional airports in Bengal will be covered in the second phase that is scheduled around mid-May.
Udan, that is an acronym of the phrase Ude Desh Ke Aam Nagarik, is a regional airport development and regional connectivity scheme with the objective of making air travel affordable so that it can be availed by the common citizen. For Bengal, the scheme is important to bring an unused airport like Cooch Behar into the aviation map and also upgrade airfields.
The test flight will mark the return of Air Deccan after nearly a decade. The low-cost carrier that had shot into limelight with its Re 1 fare had rapidly spread its wings to 70 destinations with a fleet of 45-plus aircraft.
Speaking to TOI, an Air Deccan official said the first phase of Udan flights would touch Kolkata, Shillong, Agartala, Dimapur and Aizwal. “The first Beechcraft 1900D plane is already in Kolkata and undergoing maintenance. A test flight will be carried out on Wednesday from Kolkata to Shillong. Thereafter we will begin commercial operations from April 26,” the official said.
The Beechcraft 1900D is a 18-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop fixedwing aircraft manufactured by Beechcraft. Half the seats in any flight under Udan scheme will have a fare cap of Rs 2,500 while the rest will be open to market-based pricing.
25/04/18 Subhto Niyogi/Times of India
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Udan, that is an acronym of the phrase Ude Desh Ke Aam Nagarik, is a regional airport development and regional connectivity scheme with the objective of making air travel affordable so that it can be availed by the common citizen. For Bengal, the scheme is important to bring an unused airport like Cooch Behar into the aviation map and also upgrade airfields.
The test flight will mark the return of Air Deccan after nearly a decade. The low-cost carrier that had shot into limelight with its Re 1 fare had rapidly spread its wings to 70 destinations with a fleet of 45-plus aircraft.
Speaking to TOI, an Air Deccan official said the first phase of Udan flights would touch Kolkata, Shillong, Agartala, Dimapur and Aizwal. “The first Beechcraft 1900D plane is already in Kolkata and undergoing maintenance. A test flight will be carried out on Wednesday from Kolkata to Shillong. Thereafter we will begin commercial operations from April 26,” the official said.
The Beechcraft 1900D is a 18-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop fixedwing aircraft manufactured by Beechcraft. Half the seats in any flight under Udan scheme will have a fare cap of Rs 2,500 while the rest will be open to market-based pricing.
25/04/18 Subhto Niyogi/Times of India
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