The dream of cheap air travel for the common man is now going to become even stronger. Today, on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to launch the second phase of ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik’ i.e. UDAN scheme. The government has set a huge budget of Rs 28,840 crore for this new phase. The main objective of this scheme, started in the year 2017, is to bring small cities of the country on the aerial map. In the first phase, 669 routes were started, out of which 336 air services are still running successfully. Removing the old practical challenges, the government is now going to give a fresh impetus to this scheme, so that passengers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities can fly continuously without any interruption.
Airlines will now get subsidy for 5 years
Understanding the ground reality, the government has made the biggest change in the subsidy rules. In the new budget, Rs 10,000 crore has been kept only to provide subsidy to airlines. In the first phase of Udaan, this help was available only for three years, but now it has been increased to five years. According to government officials, this change will give airlines enough time to establish their business on new routes. Earlier, after the expiry of the three-year limit, it was no longer economically viable to operate aircraft on many routes. An example of this is Star Air flights operating from Bidar and Kalaburagi in Karnataka, which had to stop their services after the end of subsidy. Now with five years of long support, such problems will not arise.
Big investment of Rs 9500 crore made in the first phase
If we look at the work of the first phase of the UDAN scheme, the government has distributed subsidy of about Rs 4,700 crore to the airlines to provide cheap tickets to the common man. Along with this, an investment of Rs 4,800 crore was made to create new airport infrastructure in remote areas. Overall, by spending Rs 9,500 crore, a strong base for air travel has been created in small cities. Now the second phase building is being constructed on this foundation.
Major demands of aviation companies
To make regional flights successful, aviation sector companies have also put forward some important suggestions before the government. Manoj Chacko, MD and CEO of Fly91, says that the real benefit of this scheme will be achieved when regional airlines will get full support at big airports like Delhi-Mumbai. To keep the air network of small cities running for a long time, it is very important to have direct connectivity with the metros. At the same time, Vishokh Mansingh, founder of Women Aero, has suggested that states should come forward and provide aircraft on lease to small operators, because aircraft leasing companies are still a little hesitant about small airlines. An airline CEO, who operates a 20-seater aircraft, also said that despite getting approval several times, he has to face delays in starting flights due to the local airport not being fully prepared.
Separate fund for airport maintenance
To remove all these hindrances of the airlines, a wonderful arrangement has been made in the second phase of the UDAN scheme. The government has created a separate fund of Rs 2,577 crore for the maintenance of new airports. In fact, when a new flight starts from a small city, the number of passengers is very less in the beginning. In such a situation, the airport finds it difficult to meet its daily expenses. This new fund will work as a lifeline in keeping the airport running smoothly in this initial phase. It is clear from all these changes that in the coming time, air travel from small cities will not only become easier, but it will also remain sustainable for a long time.
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