The tenure of the UDAN (Ude Desh Ke Aam Nagrik), also known as Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), is three years. All concessions would be extended to the airline operators till then, and after that the airlines would have to sustain themselves, Executive Director, RCS, Airports Authority of India (AAI) G.K. Chaukiyal has said.
Responding to the observations of R. Srikrishna, Associate Vice President of IndiGo and D. Heman Reddy, Regional Manager (South) of SpiceJet, at the business session on “Regional Connectivity under Udaan Scheme” organised as part of the IATO conference here on Saturday, Mr. Chaukiyal was optimistic that most of the routes under UDAN would be sustained. But, if they don’t, the funding would be stopped.
260 parking bays
He said that around 260 parking bays would be developed at airports all over India, under RCS and many of them were under construction. Agreeing with the observation of Mr. Heman Reddy, the ED (RCS) of AAI, said that MoUs were already signed with the respective State governments for provision of cheaper transport options from the airports to the respective city or town. The execution of the same was the responsibility of the State government concerned.
Mr. Chaukiyal said that the Tourism Ministry had sent a proposal to the Civil Aviation Ministry for inclusion of some airports located at iconic tourist destinations like Khajuraho so that such places could get air connectivity at cheaper rates to benefit tourists.
Subhash Goyal, chairman of Stic Travel Pvt. Ltd., who moderated the session, said that 80% of the foreign exchange earnings were coming through the tour operators or rather ‘tour ambassadors’ as coined by the Union Minister of State for Tourism K.J. Alphons at the inaugural of the IATO conference. Mr. Goyal suggested to the airline operators to interact with the tour operators before introduction of flights to new destinations. Describing UDAN scheme as a good opportunity, he felt that the State governments should be prepared for joint ventures. He said that the future belongs to cities like Visakhapatnam and Ahmedabad but not to the metro cities and suggested that the airline operators should take more slots from these cities.
Presentations given
Later during the day, presentations were given by West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab Tourism Departments. Presentations were given by Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Tourism departments on Friday.
Kerala Tourism, received an award for participation in IATO, despite the State being hit by severe floods.
