NEW DELHI: More than 123 lakh domestic passengers have travelled on Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) flights since the inception of the scheme, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen V K Singh (Retd) said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The UDAN scheme has recently completed five years.
The scheme was initiated in October 2016 with the objective of fulfilling the aspirations of the common citizen, with an enhanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in tier II and tier III cities.
The government has approved the ‘Revival of unserved and under-served airports’ scheme for the revival and development of 100 unserved and under-served airports, helipads and water aerodromes by 2024.
It is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted occasionally to cover more destinations or stations and routes. The minister further said 148 Airports, including nine heliports and two water aerodromes, have been developed/operationalised till date.
Some major factors, the minister said, for the delay in accomplishing the development/revival of airports/Heliports and Water Aerodromes under UDAN are inability of the state government to make land available on time; new entrants take longer time in getting Schedule Commuter Operator permits as they are not able to fulfill the requirements in time; non-availability of suitable aircraft; leasing issues of aircraft, long lead time for delivery of small aircraft, difficulties in procuring spares from abroad. (ANI)