Govt approves 78 new routes under UDAN 4.0; North-East region, hilly states, islands given priority

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday approved 78 new routes under the fourth round of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UdeDeshKaAamNagrik (UDAN) to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.

The north-eastern region, hilly states and islands have been given priority in the approval process for the new routes.

The list for approved routes include 29 served, 8 unserved (including 02 heliports and 01 water aerodrome), and 02 underserved airports. Overall 766 routes have been sanctioned so far under the UDAN scheme, the offical release said.

"The awarding of these 78 routes under UDAN 4 is in line with the Act East Policy of the Central Government. The airports that had already been developed by AAI are given higher priority for the award of VGF under the Scheme. Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopter and seaplanes is also been incorporated. Since its inception, MoCA has operationalised 274 UDAN routes that have connected 45 airports and 3 heliports," said Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation.