(a) whether the Government has given a further fillip to regional connectivity in different regions of the country under Regional Connectivity Schemes (RCS) during the last three years; and
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise especially in West-Bengal?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) & (b): Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on 21-10-2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses. UDAN is a market driven scheme. The interested airlines based on their assessment of demand on particular routes submit their proposals at the time of bidding under UDAN from time to time. Airports Authority of India(AAI), the Implementing Agency has conducted 4 rounds of bidding and identified 766 valid RCS routes till 1st phase of round 4.0 bidding to Selected Airline Operators, covering length and breadth of the country. 311 RCS routes have been operationalized connecting 47 RCS airports , 2 water aerodromes and 5 heliports so far. Details of the RCS routes identified in West Bengal and status thereof are attached as Annexure.