(a) whether the Government proposes to provide air connectivity to small cities of the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the action plan chalked out in this regard;
(c) whether the airports at those cities have been revamped and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the time by which the air service is likely to commence from these cities and the details of the airports to be expanded during the next three years in the country?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) to (d): A statement is laid on the table of House.
STATEMENT IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 84 FOR REPLY ON 27.06.2019 REGARDING AIR CONNECTIVITY TO SMALL CITIES:; (a) to (d) Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN scheme on 21-10-2016 to facilitate / stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses. Promoting affordability of regional air connectivity is envisioned under RCS by supporting airline operators through (i) concessions by Central Government, State Governments and airport operators to reduce the cost of airline operations on regional routes and (ii) financial support (Viability Gap Funding) to meet the gap,if any, between the cost of airline operations and expected revenues on regional routes. The interested airlines based on their assessment of demand on particular routes submit proposals at the time of bidding under RCS from time to time.; ; Under RCS-UDAN version 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, 106 airports/waterdromes (76 Unserved, 20 Underserved and 10 waterdromes) and 31 heliports have been awarded. Out of these, 39 RCS Airports (16 underserved & 23 unserved) have been revived/developed for operationalization of RCS flights. The list of these airports is at Annexure A.The list of airports/waterdromes and heliports alongwith timelines for their operationalization are at Annexure B and C. ;