FLYING DEEP INTO BHARAT

DESPITE A MULTITUDE OF OPERATIONAL, REGULATORY AND INFRASTRUCTURERELATED CHALLENGES, BOTH REGIONAL AIRLINES AND NATIONAL CARRIERS ARE INCREASING THEIR FLIGHTS INTO REGIONAL ROUTES AND SMALLER TOWNS

-  MANISH PANT

WHEN BUSINESS OWNER Shivam Gupta, hailing from Prayagraj (earlier Allahabad), had to travel to Mumbai recently, instead of going via train, he decided to take a flight from the local airport. “The journey which earlier used to take more than a day, will be completed within a few hours,” says Gupta before boarding. Similarly, when homemaker Vijaya Chavan from Kagal town in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district decided to go on a pilgrimage to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, she too decided to book air tickets. “We are happy that we are getting to travel to Tirupati cheap and in lesser time,” says an elated Chavan while waiting for her flight at Kolhapur airport.

People like Gupta and Chavan are among the 10.4 million Indians that have availed of improved regional connectivity and subsidised flights under the government’s Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik-Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN-RCS) since its introduction in 2017. “Since its genesis, the UDAN-RCS scheme has completely transformed the perception around aviation. Presently, it may not comprise a large component in the gamut of overall aviation activities, but it has made air travel more inclusive,” Usha Padhee, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), who has been spearheading the programme, told Business Today on a rain-soaked August morning in her office.