UDAN 3 routes to be announced in a week: RN Choubey

Nikita VashishtMoneycontrol News 

Final routes under the phase 3 of the Centre's regional connectivity scheme UDAN, will be "announced in a week's time", aviation secretary RN Choubey told Moneycontrol.

The third phase received close to 111 initial proposals and 17 counter proposals. A senior aviation ministry official had told Moneycontrol that 15 airlines had participated in the bidding process, including some new airlines to fly aero-waterdromes.

The Centre had invited bids for routes under the regional connectivity scheme, which aims to make air travel affordable, last year. UDAN, or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik caps airfares at Rs 2,500 for each one-hour-long flight. The government asked airlines to fly to tier II and III cities, reserving certain number of seats under the scheme at subsidised rates. The gap was to be funded by the government.

UDAN 1 was launched in April 2017 and saw five airlines receiving rights to operate on 128 routes. The second phase, which focused more on hilly and terrain areas, saw many heliports and helipads being approved for better connectivity. 15 airlines on 325 routes, including those having chopper operations, were awarded routes in the second round in January 2019.

Under the third phase, seaplane have gained focus of the government with the ministry selecting 14 seaplane routes near coastal cities. SpiceJet, IndiGo and Ghodawat Airlines have bid for 37, 20 and 15 routes, respectively, in the third phase.