274 ‘UDAN’ air regional connectivity routes operational: Puri

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said that 274 ‘UDAN’ air regional connectivity routes have been made operational in the country connecting 45 airports and three heliports since the launch of the scheme in April 2017.

Puri said this while flagging off the first helicopter service by Pawan Hans in Uttarakhand under the UDAN-RCS scheme. Accordingly, three rounds of ‘UDAN’ have already been undertaken and so far close to 50 lakh passengers have travelled in flights under the scheme covering airports in 19 states and 2 UTs.

At present, the fourth round of ‘UDAN’ is under process. On the new helicopter service, Puri said that opening of these new routes will bring people of the state closer and support tourism in the region. “Commencement of the new heli services will enhance the aerial connectivity between hilly regions in Uttarakhand and bring down the average travel time to 20-25 minutes. This will also assist the Chaar Dhaam Yatra pilgrims,” the ministry said in a statement.