Govt plans to operationalise Car Nicobar, 11 other airports under UDAN this year

The government plans to operationalise 12 more airports across eight states and Union Territories, including one at Shibpur in Car Nicobar, under the regional air connectivity scheme this year.

Currently, 579 routes connecting 85 airports -- including 13 heliports and 2 water aerodromes -- have been operationalised under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme that was introduced in 2016.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, UDAN is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations/stations and routes.

"Revival/upgradation of unserved and underserved airports is undertaken upon its identification through valid bid and award to the Selected Airline Operator," he said.

Under UDAN, he said 12 airports are likely to be operationalised this year, including one at Shibpur, Car Nicobar in Andaman & Nicobar Island.

Others include Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh), Rewa and Datia (Madhya Pradesh), Amravati and Solapur (Maharashtra), Daman (Daman & Diu), Ambala (Haryana), Moradabad and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Vellore and Neyveli (Tamil Nadu).

"For revival and development of un-served and under-served airports/ heliports/water-aerodromes in the country, an amount of Rs 4,500 crore in the Phase I and an amount of Rs 1,000 crore in Phase II of the scheme has been allocated.

"An expenditure of Rs 4,073 crore. has been incurred for revival/development of airports under Phase I as on 30.06.2024," the minister said.