CHANDIGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flagged off the first flight under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme aimed at boosting regional connectivity with low-cost flights.
The PM flagged off a flight on Shimla-Delhi sector as also on Kadapa Hyderabad and the Nanded-Hyderabad sectors on Thursday.
Air India subsidiary Alliance Air will operate the Shimla-Delhi flight and has fixed the fare at Rs 2,036. Since September 6, 2012 the Shimla airport had been closed for scheduled flights thus affecting tourist and business passengers. The resumption of regular flights after five years is expected to attract tourists, including foreign visitors. Kingfisher Airlines was the last commercial airline to have operated regular flights between Delhi and Shimla till it was grounded. Since then, the airport was being used for unscheduled /army flights.
The Alliance Air flight will operate five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday. It will depart from Delhi at 6.10 am and arrive in Shimla at 7.25 am. The same day, it will depart from Shimla at 7.45 am and return to Delhi at 8.45 am.
Under this scheme the planes will be small with a seating capacity of 19 to 78 passengers and 50 per cent of the seats in every flight will have a fare cap of Rs 2,500 per hour of approximately 500 Km on a fixed wing aircraft or for 30 minute journey on a helicopter at Rs 2,500.
On March 30, the Union government had awarded contracts to five companies to operate flights on 128 routes that will connect 70 airports. The airlines which have been chosen after the tendering process to operate under the UDAN scheme are SpiceJet, Air Deccan, Airline Allied Services (Alliance Air), Turbo Megha Airway and Air Odisha.