86 lakhs passengers travelled under UDAN Scheme till January 2022

New Delhi: Government has said that more than 86 lakhs passengers have travelled under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, UDAN till January this year. UDAN is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation envisaged to make air travel affordable and widespread in the country. The scheme was launched in October, 2016, to provide connectivity to un-served and under-served regions through revival of existing air strips and airports.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh said this in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday. He said, out of 948 valid routes, 403 routes involving 65 airports have been operationalised across the country under UDAN. The Minister said, the scheme has sparked significant increase in helicopter services in hilly areas and islands through use of heliports.