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Will seek extension for air connectivity scheme, says Minister

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CategoryPolity

Last Updated12/08/2024

The Union government will seek an extension for the regional air connectivity scheme (RCS) beyond the initial 10-year period

New Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak Bill, 2024, replaces the Aircraft Act, 1934 and seeks to remove ambiguities arising out of multiple amendments over the past nine decades.
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.
The Hindu reported on July 30 that of the 479 routes that had been launched since the start of the scheme, nearly 50% or 225 had ceased flight operations.
Of the total, as many as 97 routes shut down after completing the three-year-period for which the government provides support as airlines couldn’t sustain operations after that on their own without the government subsidy.
- Many underused airstrips revived under the scheme had also fallen into disuse.
The RCS, also known as Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), was launched in March 2017 with the award of 128 routes to five airlines after the first phase of bidding.
- The scheme was for a period of 10 years.
The Minister also informed Parliament that a revamped seaplane policy will also be brought out following feedback from the industry.
Only two waterdromes could be operationalised for seaplane flights between Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad and Statue of Unity in Kevadia, but these also shut soon after the inaugural flight in October 2020.