Click Here to read about UDAN.
Why we need UDAN?
- Five airlines have won bids to operate 128 routes, that will connect 70 airports including 31 unserved ones like Shimla, Bathinda and Jaisalmer, and 12 underserved airports like Kullu.
- Bringing Tier 2 and Tier 3 into the country’s aviation network is a significant development in a country where 80% of air travel is between the metros.
- The scheme will foster regional connectivity, make businesses and trade more efficient, enable medical services and promote tourism.
How the government convinced airlines?
- A major reason for the poor regional air connectivity in India is that airlines do not find it lucrative to operate from small cities.
- The government has tried to address this concern by a clever combination of subsidies and fare caps.
- All the airlines that participated in Thursday’s reverse bidding for the subsidy accepted the fare caps set by the government.
- The money for the subsidy will be raised through a levy on flights operating on major routes like Delhi and Mumbai.
- Funding this corpus (Rs 205 crore from this levy) could mean a levy of around Rs 50 for a passenger on flights on major routes.
- The subsidy will be in place for three years for an airline that has won the bid on a UDAN route.
- There will be other benefits, including no airport charges (airport expenses constitute 25 – 30% of operating costs).
What are some of the challenges?
- There are fears that a flight from an UDAN location will be low priority for air traffic controllers in big cities.
- Airports in many Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities do not have big runways, so they can’t take regular aircraft.
- That means airlines will need to induct smaller aircraft for short takeoffs and landings.
- Such aircraft needs specialised crew.
- India produces 200 to 300 pilots every year, and it’s safe to say that training specialised crew will take time.
- The government should give serious thought to these issues if its well-intentioned scheme of regional connectivity is to become a success.
Source: The Indian Express
