Udan scheme to be extended and revamped, says Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu

Civil Aviation Minister

The Ministry of Civil Aviation will seek an extension for the regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) beyond the initial 10-year period it was announced for at the time of its launch in 2016, Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu told reporters on August 22.

UDAN is a regional airport development programme under the Centre’s regional connectivity mission, is aimed at refurbishing under-served airports to make air travel more affordable.

"The Regional Connectivity Scheme Udan has been a major success and the ministry is working a proposal to extend the scheme beyond the 10 years for which it was launched," Naidu said at an event while launching the new guidelines for non-scheduled seaplane operations in India.

Earlier this month, Naidu had informed Parliament that the ministry of civil aviation is working to address the issues of airlines stopping operations on regional routes after subsidy support is stopped after the initial three years.

"A specific situation has arisen and airlines are backing away from that route after three years. We will address this issue,” Naidu had said, while informing the parliament that under the RCS scheme, subsidy support was provided to airlines for routes bagged by them after a bidding process for a period of three years.

The minister said that the government will tweak the RCS norms so that after one year the routes can be rebid.

As of October 3, 2023, after five rounds of bidding under UDAN, 493 routes had on paper commenced operations connecting 70 destinations, including two water aerodromes and nine heliports, according to the latest Airports Authority of India (AAI) report.

Moreover, several state governments, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh, are keen on establishing such connectivity.

However, an analysis of all operationalised routes awarded by the government under UDAN, based on the flight schedules of all airlines, and data from online travel agents and local booking agents, shows that only 225 routes remained operational till October 2023.

The minister also announced simplified regulations for seaplane operations, including allowing non-scheduled entities to operate such services and putting in place a simplified certificate process.

The relaxed norms are aimed at encouraging seaplane operations under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). Generally, seaplanes are amphibian aircraft that can take off and land on the sea.

Under the relaxed norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there will be no need for a wardrobe license, and compliance requirements have also been reduced. Waterdromes are for landing and take off of seaplanes.

The revised regulations have been carefully planned and prepared after extensive consultations, said Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu.

"The extension of the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the RCS to seaplane operations would provide the initial fillip to the Operators. While seeking to promote seaplane operations, due care has been taken to ensure the safety and security of the operations," Naidu said.

The regulatory framework for seaplane operations was established in 2008 and “was long due for a review” which has now been completed.

Several companies such as SpiceJet, Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Private Ltd (Mehair), and Heritage Aviation, along with international OEMs, have expressed interest in this sector. There is also an expectation that global entities such as De Havilland Aircraft and Cessna may join in, the report said.

Seaplanes imported specifically for non-scheduled operator permit (NSOP) operations incur duty of less than 5 percent.

The government has identified 100 places within the country for seaplane operations and detailed discussions with scheduled as well as non-scheduled operators have already taken place.

In earlier attempts, efforts were made to launch seaplane services in Andaman and Gujarat, but these plans were hindered by economic factors and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Similar initiatives were also planned under the Centre’s Udan scheme to introduce seaplane services in lakes, dams, inland waterways, and coastal areas.

The minister also launch the 5.4 version of the UDAN. Under UDAN 5.4, fresh bids would be invited for the routes which were cancelled for some reason or the other, to provide connectivity on unserved routes. The minister also announced that the demonstration flights of the seaplane by manufacturer DeHavilland would be held shortly.

Last month, the government has said that it will look to operationalize 12 additional airports in 2024-25 under the regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN. This announcement includes new airports in eight states and Union Territories, covering diverse locations from Shibpur in Car Nicobar to Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol had informed the Rajya Sabha that Rs 4,500 crore was committed for Phase I, and Rs 1,000 crore for Phase II, with Rs 4,073 crore already spent on the first phase as of June 2024.

The allocation for government's regional air connectivity scheme UDAN has been pegged lower in the Union Budget 2024-25. In the budget for FY25, the government has earmarked Rs 502 crore for the scheme, down from Rs 1,244.07 crore (BE FY24) and a revised estimate of Rs 850 crore.