First Udan passengers to fly on Shimla-Delhi route

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first “Udan” (Ude Deshka Aam Naagrik) flight under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) on the Shimla-Delhi sector on Thursday, the civil aviation ministry said on Wednesday.

Mr Modi will also “flag off the inaugural Udan flights on Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors”.

The RCS is meant to connect unserved and underserved airports in the country to make flying on these routes affordable for the common man through a fare cap on some of the seats.

“The ministry of civil aviation is committed to providing air connectivity to currently underserved and unserved airports,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Udan scheme was developed through extensive consideration of various issues and consultations with stakeholders. This is a first-of-its-kind scheme globally to stimulate regional connectivity through a market-based mechanism,” the ministry said.

The airports to be connected are 27 served airports, 12 underserved airports and 31 unserved airports (for a total of 70 airports), the ministry said.

Of the 70 airports, 24 are in the western region, 17 in the north, 11 in the south, 12 in the east and six in the north-east, the ministry stated.

“The airfare for a onehour journey of 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30-minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at `2,500, with proportionate pricing for routes of different stage lengths and flight duration,” it said.

The scheme is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy released on June 15, 2016.