NEW DELHI: India has till date operationalised 347 air routes under the regional connectivity scheme 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik' or RCS-UDAN. The scheme was launched in 2016. The Ministry of Civil Aviation said that 22 new routes have been operationalised in the last three days under the scheme. ''The operationalisation of these routes aligns with the objectives of UDAN scheme to strengthen the aerial network of the country, create affordable, yet economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes,'' said the Ministry in a statement.
''Till date, 57 unserved and underserved airports with 347 routes have been operationalised under UDAN across the length and breadth of India.'' According to the statement, on March 28, 18 new routes were flagged off under the UDAN scheme. ''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.'' (IANS)