After three successful rounds of bidding, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched the fourth round of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the focus of this round would be the priority areas like NER, Hilly States, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and islands.
Listing out the key features of the scheme, the statement said that the provision of VGF for Category 2/3 aircraft (more than 20 seats) has been enhanced for operation of RCS flights in Priority Areas (Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir; the States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, North Eastern State; UT of Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar). The VGF cap applicable for various stage lengths for operation through category 1/1 A aircraft (below 20 seats) has also been revised to further incentivize the operation of small aircraft under the scheme.
The ministry also informed that the provision of VGF would be restricted for routes with stage length up to 600 km for the operation of Category 2/3 aircraft and beyond it, no monetary support would be provided. The table for the provision of VGF for various stage lengths would be available for stage length up to 500 km.
The airports that have already been developed by AAI would be given higher priority for the award of VGF under the scheme, followed by airports not part of the above list.
Another important feature that the statement mentioned is that the Selected Airline Operator (SAO) would be allowed to change the frequency of flight operation, during the tenure of flight operation of the given route, provided that the total scheduled flight operation submitted as part of the Technical Proposal, is conformed and adhered to within a period of one year.
The operation of helicopters and seaplanes would also be allowed under this round.
In the last three years, the ministry has successfully completed three rounds of bidding under the scheme and awarded about 700 routes. It aims to operationalize 1000 routes and more than 100 airports in the next five years.
