Ministry of Civil Aviation launches UDAN 5.1

Tags: Government Schemes National News

The Ministry of Civil Aviation in India has launched UDAN 5.1 on 24 May, a special edition of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, with a special focus on helicopter routes.

The main features of UDAN 5.1

• For the first time under Regional Connectivity Scheme RCS-UDAN, this round is designed specifically for helicopter routes.

• There will be an increase in the scope of operations for the operators, which will now also allow routes where one of the origin or destination points is in the priority zone.

• The airfare ceiling has been reduced by 25% to make flying in helicopters more affordable for passengers.

• The Viability Gap Funding (VGF) cap for single and twin-engine helicopter operators has been substantially increased to enhance the financial viability for operating the routes.

• So far 46 helicopter routes have been operationalized under the scheme, benefitting many hilly and North East states and UDAN 5.1 is targeting coverage of a much larger number of routes.

About UDAN Scheme

• Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) was launched in 2016 as a Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

• Its objective is to make affordable, economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes available to the common man even in small towns.

• It seeks to improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities through revival of unused and underused airports.

• The scheme will be jointly funded by the central government and state governments.

• The scheme will run for 10 years and can be extended thereafter.