BHUBANESWAR: The Centre on Tuesday operationalised 22 new routes including Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to Bhubaneswar under the UDAN scheme. The Prayagraj-Bhubaneswar route was one the 18 new ones that were flagged off by senior officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) under UDAN scheme on March 28. The other routes that commenced operations include Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) to Bangalore (Karnataka), Kurnool-Vishakhapatnam and Kurnool-Chennai, Agra-Bangalore, Agra-Bhopal, Prayagraj-Bhopal and Gorakhpur-Lucknow.
The operationalisation of these routes aligns with the objectives of UDAN scheme to strengthen the aerial network of the country, create affordable, yet economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes. Till date, 57 unserved and underserved airports (including five heliports and two water aerodrome) with 347 routes have been operationalised under UDAN across the length and breadth of India, said a note of the Ministry. Indigo Airlines has been awarded Prayagraj to Bhubaneswar and Prayagraj to Bhopal route under UDAN 2 bidding process.