Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, 12 new flight routes have recently become operational, taking the total number of functional routes under the scheme to 186, including eight Tourism RCS routes, out of the 706 sanctioned routes.
With this development, Durgapur Airport has become the 40th airport to commence operations under the Regional Connectivity Scheme.
Newly Operational UDAN Routes
- Kolkata – Allahabad
- Allahabad – Kolkata
- Allahabad – Raipur
- Raipur – Allahabad
- Gwalior – Bangalore
- Bangalore – Gwalior
- Kolkata – Gwalior
- Gwalior – Kolkata
- Mumbai – Belgaum
- Belgaum – Mumbai
- Mumbai – Durgapur
- Durgapur – Mumbai
The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN on October 21, 2016, with the objective of enhancing regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable for the common citizen.
Since its launch, three rounds of bidding under the scheme have been completed. The first UDAN flight was inaugurated by Narendra Modi on April 27, 2017, from Shimla.
A total of 106 RCS airports and water aerodromes — including 76 unserved airports, 20 underserved airports, and 10 water aerodromes — along with 31 heliports, have been identified for the commencement of RCS flights aimed at connecting smaller cities across India.
