22 Routes Inaugurated Under UDAN in 3 Days--6 Routes Operationalised in North East
The first direct flight from Shillong (Meghalaya) to Agartala (Tripura) under the UDAN scheme was flagged off yesterday after the successful commencement of the flight operations on the Shillong (Meghalaya)- Silchar (Assam) route on Monday.
In a constant endeavor to connect the unconnected regions, 22 new routes have been operationalized in the last 3 days under the UDAN scheme out of which 6 new routes have been operationalized in North-East India. First direct flight from Shillong (Meghalaya) to Agartala (Tripura) under the UDAN scheme was flagged off today after the successful commencement of the flight operations on the Shillong (Meghalaya)- Silchar (Assam) route yesterday. Senior officials and other important stakeholders of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) were present. While the operationalization of these routes, aligns with the objectives of UDAN scheme to strengthen the aerial network of the country, create affordably, yet economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes. 57 unserved and underserved airports (including 5 heliports + 2 water aerodrome), with 347 routes have been made functional under the UDAN scheme across the length and breadth of India.
On 28th March 2021, 18 new routes were flagged off under the UDAN scheme. The routes that commenced operations were Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) to Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) which is a state-supported UDAN route, Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) to Bangalore (Karnataka), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), and Chennai (Tamil Nadu), from Agra (Uttar Pradesh) to Bangalore (Karnataka) & Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), from Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) to Bhubaneswar (Odisha) & Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). In addition to these routes, new flight connectivity was established from Dibrugarh (Assam) to Dimapur (Nagaland).
The Indigo airlines was awarded the Shillong-Agartala, Shillong – Silchar, Kurnool - Bangalore, Vishakhapatnam, and Chennai routes under the UDAN 4 bidding process last year. In addition to these, Agra to Bangalore and Agra to Bhopal route under UDAN 3, Prayagraj to Bhubaneswar and Prayagraj to Bhopal route under UDAN 2, and Dibrugarh to Dimapur were awarded under UDAN 3 bidding process. Alliance Air was awarded the Lucknow – Gorakhpur route under the UDAN 3 bidding process