(a) whether the Government has received any proposal to expand the existing airport in Bidar;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to improve the air connectivity in the country?
(a) whether the Government has received any proposal to expand the existing airport in Bidar;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to improve the air connectivity in the country?
The Minister of State (IC) in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Hardeep Singh Puri)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.;
Statement in reply to parts (a) to (c) of the Starred (*) Question No. 150 for answer on 28.11.2019 regarding ''Bidar Airport'';; (a) & (b): Bidar airport is under the operational control of Indian Air Force (IAF). Bids for operating civil flights from Bidar airport have been received under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). However, being within the radius of 150 km of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad, the ''No Objection'' of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) (who operates RGIA) is required to make the airport operational. State Government of Karnataka has informed that GHIAL has agreed in-principle for operationalization of the Bidar Airport. However, no agreement between the State Government and GHIAL in this regard has been signed yet. Being an Air Force airport, a full fledged Civil Enclave is required to be constructed by the State Government.; (c): Air operations in domestic sector have been deregulated and the airlines are free to operate anywhere in the country subject to Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) issued by the Government. It is upto the airline operator to provide air services to a specific place depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability. However, with the objective of facilitating / stimulating regional air connectivity especially to underserved and unserved airports in the country, the Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched the RCS-UDAN in October, 2016 which is a demand driven scheme.