Flight services are expected to resume through the airport here from July 1 with SpiceJet operating a daily flight between Puducherry and Hyderabad.
The SpiceJet commitment came at a video-conferencing meeting convened in Delhi by R. N. Choubey, Civil Aviation Secretary with respective Chief Secretaries, operators and various stakeholders under the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
The Hyderabad-Puducherry-Hyderabad flight will be operated under the flagship scheme also referred to as Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik or UDAN being implemented by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
“We have pegged the per ticket tariff at a subsidised rate of ₹2,500 as per the scheme,” Mr. Parida told The Hindu after the meeting.
The Puducherry Government has also raised concern over the delay in moving the RCS forward in spite of extending a bouquet of attractive concessions.
In response, SpiceJet has mooted operating a direct flight connecting Puducherry and Bengaluru provided some additional concessions are provided.
“However, releasing more concessions needed to be thought through as already under the RCS a slew of waivers such as landing fees and concessions including free water, electricity and reduced 1 per cent VAT on fuel is being extended,” Mr. Parida said.
Incidentally, SpiceJet, which had been the first to launch flight services from here in 2013, re-enters air space over Puducherry with direct flights connecting Puducherry and Hyderabad. The airline operator is expected to press in a 60-seater ATR aircraft.
Clearance for Air Odisha
Air Odisha has also been granted route clearance to operate flights on the Chennai-Puducherry-Salem-Bengaluru circuit though modalities are yet to be worked out.
It was in October, 2016, that the Government of Puducherry had signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under Regional Connectivity Scheme with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India.
The RCS, which would be in operation for a period of 10 years, is being promoted through a financial stimulus in the form of Central and State government concessions, as well as Viability Gap Funding to airlines to kick-off operations from smaller airports. The fare for a one hour journey of approximately 500 km on a fixed wing aircraft or for a 30 minute journey on a helicopter would be capped at ₹2,500 under the scheme, with proportionate pricing for routes of different route lengths/duration.
