Civil aviation ministry says 323 UDAN routes are currently operational, BA

As many as 323 routes are presently operational out of the 619 routes that were operationalised under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, according to the government. Started in 2016, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is aimed at connecting unserved and under served routes as well as making flying more affordable.

“As on date, under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN), 619 routes have been operationalized in which 323 routes are presently in operation, including those which are being sustained commercially. 114 routes have discontinued before completion of 3 years tenure,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said on Monday.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, he said eligible routes which were discontinued in the past rounds due to various reasons have been re-bid, awarded and operationalised in the subsequent rounds.

“Several factors may account for the unoperated flights /discontinuation of routes. Key reasons for the route cancellations include disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the grounding of numerous aircraft due to global engine issues, which significantly reduced the available fleet for all airline operators in the country, the shutdown of certain airlines and low passenger demand on specific routes,” the minister said.

Further, he said issues such as slot unavailability, low passenger demand, limited aircraft availability and various internal challenges prevented the airlines from scheduling the awarded weekly frequencies.

Poor weather conditions and various operational constraints also contributed to the cancellation of flights. “Such reasons would impact any type of aircraft operations on any route,” Mohol said.

Under UDAN, Mohol said aircraft such as Tecnam P2010, Twin Otter DHC 400, Q400, Embraer 175 & 145, ATR-42, ATR-72, A320 and Cessna grand are being operated by airlines.