Centre plans to double airports in 2-3 years

Chennai : The Union government plans to double the number of airports in the country over the next two to three years to serve the largely untapped domestic aviation industry which has seen an increase in passengers, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha has said.

“Our party in its 2014 elections manifesto announced the UDAN (Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, under which we have to expand the number of airports. The fact is we have 75 airports with scheduled services. We think to double it in the next two to three years,” he said, while delivering the third memorial lecture on G Ramachandran organised by SICCI.

The government on July 1 had unveiled a draft UDAN scheme, fixing an all-inclusive fare at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights to try and make flying affordable for the common man. Sinha said the government would raise about Rs 400 crore to run the UDAN air connectivity scheme. It was asking airlines to bid for these routes that provide connectivity to other major airports. Airlines that bid with lowest rates would be awarded the route, he said.

The scheme was aimed at developing regional routes that are “under-developed” with increased profitability, he said. “When the bids are finally given out in January 2017, we will create an entirely new regional market,” he said.

Stating that 14 crore people take flights compared to 13 crore people who use air-conditioned coaches in railways every year, he said air passenger growth in India averaged around 11 per cent over the last 10 years.