New Delhi, NFAPost: Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh (Retd) said 517 routes connecting 76 airports, including 9 Heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes, have so far commenced operations.
“Out of 1300 valid routes awarded under the Scheme till 5.0 round of UDAN , 501 routes have been cancelled due to various reasons which include shutting down of the airlines, non-readiness of the aerodromes etc. Out of the remaining 799 routes, 517 routes have commenced so far. 201 routes have completed the prescribed 3 years tenure,” said Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh (Retd) in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) was launched on 21.10.2016 to enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country and make air travel affordable to the masses.
The scheme seeks to bring air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, by taking up existing airstrips identified through UDAN bidding rounds, for development and upgradation under the ‘Revival of unserved and underserved airports’ scheme.
RCS-UDAN emerged as a market driven scheme. Interested airlines, based on their assessment of demand on particular routes, submit proposals at the time of bidding under the Scheme. Revival / up-gradation of unserved and underserved airports is undertaken upon its identification through valid bid and award to the Selected Airline Operator (SAO).
Keeping in view the feedback received from the stakeholders, requisite changes are made in the norms to achieve the objectives of the Scheme. Changes made in the norms recently include :-
(i) Maximum ceiling of 500 km stage length has been removed under UDAN 5.0
(ii) The scheme now lists airports that are ready for operation or are likely to be operational in the next 6 months.
(iii) Routes are being awarded to airline operators only where the airports are ready.
(iv) Route operationalisation plan is to be submitted by airline operators along with the bids.
Selected Airline Operators can now assign its right to operate the route to another airline operator (novation) at any point of time after the execution of the Agreement.
This information was given by the
Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh (Retd) also said there is no shortage of pilots in the country.
“However, there is a shortage of Commanders on certain types of aircraft which is addressed by utilising foreign pilots through Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorisation (FATA),” said Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh (Retd).
The Government has taken several steps to establish more flying schools across the country to train greater number of commercial pilots. These include the following:
Currently, there are 34 Flying Training Organizations (FTOs) in the country operating at 55 bases which are imparting flying training to cadets. During the current year 2023 (till November), a total of 1491 Commercial Pilot Licenses( CPLs) have been issued so far. The trend indicates a substantial increase in number of CPLs issued in comparison to previous years.
Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) at Amethi has been permitted to carry out pilot training at Gondia (Maharashtra) and Kalaburagi (Karnataka) to enhance its flying hours and aircraft utilisation.
