The promise of cheap flights between smaller cities still eludes many. A year since the Centre unveiled the regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) with the aim to connect tier-2 and tier-3 cities and make flying affordable for the masses, a mere 15% or 70 of the total 453 routes awarded to various airline and helicopter operators have taken off.
None of the 75 helicopter routes connecting hilly terrain and islands have commenced yet. According to an official of Pawan Hans, the nodal body for overseeing helicopter operations under the RCS, it has identified close to 50 sites for helipads and development work may take 3-6 months to finish. These routes were awarded in January and there is a deadline of six months to start operations.
According to official sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, of the 56 unserved airports that the government planned to add to the aviation map in a year, only 16 are ready, and 10 of the 25 under-served airports have been developed.
Two rounds of bidding have ended for routes under the scheme, also known as Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), in the past year. Operators are offered a subsidy by the Centre and the State governments to keep airfares low.
Airlines have to set aside half the total seats in an aircraft at a discounted rate of ₹2,500 each per hour of flight and helicopters need to offer a maximum of 13 seats for ₹2,500 each per 30 minutes of flight. Operators get exclusive rights to fly on a route for three years, to protect them from competition.
In March last year, after the first round of bidding, five operators were awarded 128 routes, which had to be opened by September-end. A year later, less than half of these routes are operational.
27/05/18 Jagriti Chandra/The Hindu
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None of the 75 helicopter routes connecting hilly terrain and islands have commenced yet. According to an official of Pawan Hans, the nodal body for overseeing helicopter operations under the RCS, it has identified close to 50 sites for helipads and development work may take 3-6 months to finish. These routes were awarded in January and there is a deadline of six months to start operations.
According to official sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, of the 56 unserved airports that the government planned to add to the aviation map in a year, only 16 are ready, and 10 of the 25 under-served airports have been developed.
Two rounds of bidding have ended for routes under the scheme, also known as Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), in the past year. Operators are offered a subsidy by the Centre and the State governments to keep airfares low.
Airlines have to set aside half the total seats in an aircraft at a discounted rate of ₹2,500 each per hour of flight and helicopters need to offer a maximum of 13 seats for ₹2,500 each per 30 minutes of flight. Operators get exclusive rights to fly on a route for three years, to protect them from competition.
In March last year, after the first round of bidding, five operators were awarded 128 routes, which had to be opened by September-end. A year later, less than half of these routes are operational.
27/05/18 Jagriti Chandra/The Hindu
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