India operationalised over 361 air routes under UDAN: Civil Aviation Ministry

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday informed that India has to date operationalised 361 air routes under the regional connectivity scheme 'Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik' or RCS-Udan.

"Till date, 361 routes and 59 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalised under the Udan scheme," the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement on Wednesday.

Launched in 2016, the scheme aimed at providing airlines with a 'Viability Gap Funding' to keep fares affordable and accessible.

"The scheme is envisaged to establish strong aerial connectivity in all States and UTs of the country which hitherto were not connected, laying the foundation of a new regional segment in India's aviation market," said Ministry.

Meanwhile, the first direct flight operations between Imphal (Manipur) and Shillong (Meghalaya) was flagged off under the RCS-UDAN on Tuesday.

"The operationalisation of this route fulfils the objectives of the Government of India to establish strong aerial connectivity in priority areas of NorthEast India."

"Shillong is the second city to be connected with Imphal under the UDAN scheme. The airline M/s IndiGo was awarded the Imphal-Shillong route during the UDAN 4 bidding process" it added.

Currently, 66 UDAN routes are operational by IndiGo.

In addition, the statement said the airline will be operating four flights in a week and will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft.