TBM Staff - Mumbai The Civil Aviation Ministry is expanding the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme to alleviate entry barriers and slash operational costs, aiming to entice new participants. Seaplanes, small aircraft, and helicopters will be newly included in the scheme, alongside a focus on constructing cost-effective regional airports. Sources indicate that the final scheme details will be determined after the forthcoming government assumes office next month. Currently, aircraft availability, exorbitant financing costs, and stringent regulatory requirements hinder new entrants. The revised scheme will streamline entry criteria, particularly for operators of small aircraft in the 9-20 seater category.
The aircraft in categories such as ‘lA’can seat less than nine passengers, and ‘Category 1’ can ferry less than 20 passengers per flight. It will also focus on boosting seaplane operations via fractional ownership. A separate cell to promote chopper operations in urban,semi-urban, and rural areas will also be formed. The new scheme will look at building regional hub airports in a phased manner. The overall idea, sources said, will be to reduce the average cost of regional airport operations. “At present,on an average a small, regional airport costs around INR 7 to f 10 crore. The new scheme will look at ways to reduce costs so that airlines will be able to offer affordable fares,” a source said. UDAN scheme was launched in 2016 and has facilitated travel of close to 30 million passengers till now.At present,nearly 150 airports, including eight heliports, have been developed or operationalised under the scheme. (Source: The Financial Express)
