NEW DELHI: Air passengers will soon have more options to fly on international routes under government’s UDAN scheme. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has prepared a draft scheme document for “UDAN International” and invited comments from stakeholders till September 4.
The scheme is designed for State governments that are keen to promote air connectivity on international routes identified by them and for which they are willing to provide subsidy to airlines.
Main purpose of the scheme is to increase air connectivity between the Indian states and selected international destinations.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday shared the announcement saying, “The objective of the UDAN (International) scheme is to enhance international air connectivity between Indian states and select international destinations through the provision of financial support to airlines. It is the next step after the positive domestic impact of UDAN.”
The scheme will involve a State government-led effort wherein state governments will propose the list of routes to be connected. Presently, the state of Assam and Andhra Pradesh have come forward to participate under the scheme and have identified the routes.
Officials said that the scheme is meant for domestic airlines and only fixed-wing aircraft with more than 70 seats can be operated under the scheme. Airlines will have to conduct a minimum of three and a maximum of seven departures on a given route on three days in a week.
Unlike the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) for domestic routes, the international UDAN scheme will not have any capping of fares. Under RCS, fares are capped at Rs 2,500 for one hour of flight on a fixed-wing aircraft in order to make air travel affordable.
According to the draft, a State will identify international routes for which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will determine a subsidy amount per seat and invite bids from domestic carriers.
The civil aviation minister said that under the scheme, the state governments will be responsible for funding the financial benefits. The scheme envisages providing monetary support, in the form of a subsidy per seat, for the unsold seats from the number of seats as bid by the airline to make operations viable.
“With the International Air Connectivity Scheme-UDAN, we are trying to make flying to international destinations more accessible to our citizens. This will help improve overall connectivity and spur trade, tourism and economic growth in the country,” added the minister.