Financial support of Rs 1,465 cr given to airlines for UDAN flights, Alliance Air tops the chart

New Delhi, Dec 26 (UNI) The government has provided a total financial support of about Rs 1,465 crore to airlines under UDAN scheme to make flights affordable for common man. As per official data, Alliance Air has received Rs 418 crore in viability gap funding (VGF) from the government for operating UDAN flights. Regional operator Turbo Megha Airways has received a VGF of Rs 372.74 crore from the government to run affordable air services. RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) seeks to make the dream of flying possible for even those in low income bracket. Since smaller cities are not commercially viable for airlines to operate flights, government provides a viability gap funding (VGF) or subsidy to make routes profitable and at the same time affordable.

Ministry of Civil Aviation launched RCS- UDAN in October 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable for the masses. Under the scheme, eligible airlines get concessions from central government, state governments and airport operators to reduce the cost of operations on regional routes. They get financial support (VGF) to meet the gap, if any, between the cost of airline operations and expected revenues on regional routes. Among the major UDAN flight operators, SpiceJet has received a total VGF of Rs 273.42 crores over the years. The country’s largest carrier IndiGo has got Rs 258.10 crores financial support for operating UDAN flights. Deccan Charters Pvt Ltd and Ghodawat Enterprises Pvt Ltd have received VGF of Rs 5.27 crores and Rs 81.34 crores respectively. As many as 13 air-operators have so far received financial support under UDAN scheme. “UDAN has transformed the way people travel in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Under UDAN, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Implementing Agency, has awarded 948 routes to connect hitherto unserved/underserved areas, tourist destinations, North Eastern Region, etc,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha last week. “Out of these 948 awarded routes, 403 UDAN routes have commenced connecting 65 UDAN airports including 2 Water Aerodromes and 8 Heliports, as on 14.12.2021,” he further said.