New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday the government’s UDAN scheme, an initiative aimed at connecting smaller cities with air travel and making flying more affordable, has transformed India’s aviation sector.
“Today, we mark #8YearsOfUDAN, an initiative that has transformed India’s aviation sector. From an increase in several airports to more air routes, this scheme has ensured crores of people have access to flying. At the same time, it has had a major impact on boosting trade and commerce and furthering regional growth. In the times to come, we will keep strengthening the aviation sector and focusing on even better connectivity and comfort for the people.” Modi wrote on X.
The government started Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik [the common man should fly] aka UDAN on October 21, 2016, amid a lot of fanfare.
PM Modi had said, “A common man who travels in slippers, should also be seen in the aircraft. This is my dream.”
In short, affordable air travel for the masses. That was the vision.
The scheme, however, has faced questions including from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to the NITI Ayog on performance and relevance.
According to a report in the Press Information Bureau, as of March 2023, a total of “73 unserved /underserved airports, including 9 Heliports & 2 water aerodromes” had been operationalized under the scheme.
But the scheme has incurred an expenditure of Rs 4,071 crore till August 2024, the junior minister of civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in a reply to a parliamentary question by Ambala Congress MP Varun Chaudhry on August 8, 2024.
The civil aviation ministry awarded 870 valid routes, but 579 routes were operationalized. And, airlines discontinued 106 routes in the first three years of the scheme, according to Mohol.
“UDAN is a market-driven scheme in which the unserved and underserved airstrips/airports are listed for bidding by airlines to provide connectivity. Bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations,” according to the government.
Per the parliamentary questions and answers of the last session, the government has conducted 12 bidding cycles under five rounds of UDAN so far.
The government has also admitted that many routes couldn’t be operational because of many problems.
For instance, Spicejet was awarded the routes connecting Shivamogga to Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai, but the airline has not started operating due to a shortage of aircraft.
In the state of Tamil Nadu, five airports – Salem, Tanjore, Ramnad, Vellore, and Nevyeli – were identified under the scheme, but only Salem has operational flights.
Some new airports like Pakyong in Sikkim have failed to take off. Some others, like Ayodhya, have seen airlines drop flights because of lack of demand.
The reasons for these delays in operationalizing the airports are land unavailability, technical and operational constraints, permit times for new airlines and non-availability of suitable aircraft, aircraft leasing issues, and maintenance issues of small aircraft.