BENGALURU: Five airstrips in Karnataka have been tentatively identified by the Ministry of Civil Aviation Ministry for development under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) or Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
Responding to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha asked by former CM and Haveri MP Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, in a written response said, “The airstrips in Karnataka listed in the tentative list of unserved airstrips under UDAN Scheme document for bidding are Ballari, Kolar, Kushalnagar, Raichur and Hassan.”
An Airports Authority of India offical told The New Indian Express, “The tendering process has begun for these five airstrips and they are in different stages.”
Mohol said RCS is a market-driven scheme, wherein bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations and routes and airline operators assess the feasibility of operations on a particular route and bid under the scheme.
Muhol added that nine unserved airports previously identified for operation of flights under the scheme in the state were Bidar, Mysuru, Vidyanagar, Hubballi, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Belagavi, Vijayapura and Karwar. “All the above airports except Vijayapura and Karwar have already been operationalised under UDAN Scheme,” he informed the Lok Sabha.