RCS

New Delhi, 22 November 2021: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has democratised the Indian Air Space, said Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia during the Udan Utsav celebrations at Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda, Odisha on Monday.He said that the development of Jharsuguda airport is a perfect example of cooperative federalism and a great success story of Udan scheme. It is an example of how the center and state’s joint work could do wonders, the minister added. Shri Scindia said that while all the airports around the country were witnessing a steep decline in the number of flyers during the Covid pandemic time, Jharsuguda airport was among those few, which witnessed something different. “The number of flyers across the country during the pandemic saw a decline of 62% while Jharsuguda during the same time, witnessed a mere drop of 5%. This shows the potential of the district and the region at large,” he said. The minister while speaking about the success of Udan scheme over the years, has said that the country had only 72 airports since independence while after 2014, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the number of airports now stood at 136. “We have set a target to increase this number by 220 in the next five years which will include helipads and water aerodromes. The number of airlines, routes have also increased significantly over the years due to the advent of Udan scheme,” Shri Scindia added. Speaking of the glory of the rich land of Jharsuguda and terming it as the Power House of Odisha and India at large, Shri Scindia said that the place, which is a house to many brave freedom fighters, natural and cultural resources, is aptly chosen to celebrate the Udan Utsav. Shri Scindia also announced the Special Joy Ride, an air ride, being planned for elderly and children during the Udan Utsav celebrations which will also commemorate the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Talking about airport expansions in Odisha, the minister said the Greenfield Airport at Puri and the Phase II expansion of Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda will commence following responses from the state government. During the event, the minister interacted with the airport directors/officials and beneficiary flyers of Udan who were connected from different parts of the country through Video conferencing. The minister also unveiled a “Socio-economic Impact Study Report of UDAN Scheme conducted by Indian School of Business. He also witnessed the exchange of partnership agreement between Udan and Make My Trip. On the occasion, the results of UDAN Logo competition were announced. The minister also flagged off new air route between Shilong and Dimapur under RCS Scheme. The event on Monday was attended by Sundargarh MP JualOram, Bargarh MP  Suresh Pujhari, state Transport Department Minister Padmanav Behera, MLA Brajrajnagar Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Chairman Airport Authority of India Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation,  Rajiv Bansal and other senior officials of the ministry and the airport.

New Delhi, 18th October 2021: In order to further boost up aerial connectivity in the North east, Alliance Air today started flight services to 6 new destinations in the region.Union Minister of Civil Aviation,Jyotiraditya Scindia, MoS, Civil Aviation, Gen Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) along with Rajeev Bansal, Secretary,MoCA virtually flagged off the new routes expanding the aerial connectivity of North-East India. The routes commencing operations from today are Kolkata – Guwahati, Guwahati – Aizawl, Aizawl – Shillong, Shillong – Aizawl, Aizawl – Guwahati, and Guwahati – Kolkata.Dr. R. Lalthangliana, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Higher and Technical Education, Commerce and Industry,Robert Romawia Royte, MoS for Sports and Youth Services, Tourism and Information and Communication Technology along with other important members of the state government joined the event virtually from the Lengpui Airport, Aizawl, Mizoram. The Civil Aviation Minister said, “Mizoram is the gateway to North-East India. The city has an immense amount of importance for its tourism & economic sector.I assure you, that MoS General Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) and I will personally visit Mizoram very soon.” The minister further mentioned, “I am delighted to mention the fact that Alliance Air’s most ATR aircraft are deployed on the North-Eastern routes. Today, we are further establishing seamless connectivity across entire North-East India by connecting 4 cities with one flight. This underlines the due importance given to the North-East by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the leadership of our Prime Minister. Under the UDAN scheme,we have connected cities that had no mention on the aviation map of the country. We have already started 60 airports, and 387 routes, out of which 100 routes are awarded in North East alone, & 50 are already operational. Moreover, In 2014, only 6 airports were operational in North East, now we have grown to 15 airports in a short span of 7 years. Therefore, this further highlights the due importance of the North-Eastern states for this government. In addition to this, under the KRISHI UDAN Yojna, we have identified 16 airports to enhance the export opportunities of the region establishing dual benefits of enhancement of cargo movements and exports.” Today’s flight launch has expanded the aerial connectivity of the North-East by connecting multiple states hitherto not connected via flights. The flight connectivity on these routes has been a long-pending demand of the natives of the regions. With these new flights, travellers from Guwahati, Aizawl and Shillong will get multiple options for onward connectivity to the rest of the country. In the constant endeavour to bolster the regional connectivity of the country, the first direct flight on the Tirupati-Delhi route was also started yesterday connecting one of the best heritage cities of the country with the capital of the country.

09 OCT 2021, NEW Delhi Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, along with Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Shri Rajiv Bansal, Ms. Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shri Vineet Sood, CEO, Alliance Air virtually inaugurated the greenfield Sindhudurg airport in Maharashtra & also flagged off the first flight from Sindhudurg to Mumbai under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the Government of India. Chief Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra, Shri Uddhav Thakeray graced the event virtually from Sindhudurg airport as the Guest of Honor. Other dignitaries including, Shri Narayan Rane, Minister of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Shri Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Balasaheb Thorat, Minister for Revenue, Maharashtra, Shri Aditya Thackeray, Minister for Tourism, Environment & Protocol, Maharashtra, Shri Subash Desai, Minister for Industries, Maharashtra, Shri Uday Samant, Guardian Minister, Maharashtra, Shri Vinayak Raut, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, along with other important stakeholders also joined the event virtually from the Sindhudurg airport. Shri. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation in his address said “The inauguration of the Sindhudurg airport and start of flight to Mumbai marks a new chapter in the glorious history of the Konkan region. This development will open new avenues of growth of local trade and tourism. I am sure, with huge potential of the region, number of daily flights will increase to 20-25 within next 5 years.” The day is a momentous day for the people of Maharashtra as the inauguration pins the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra on the national air map. These new flights will further add convenience and comfort to travellers creating a gateway for the people to easily access the Konkan region noted for its pristine beaches, temples, and forts. These new flights will facilitate people of Sindhudurg not only in their travel to Mumbai but also opens the horizon of additional connectivity with other metro cities directly connected with Mumbai such as Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad. Moreover, the Sindhudurg airport is a good option for people travelling to North-Goa. Sindhudurg Airport also known as Chipi Airport is in Sindhudurg District of Maharashtra. The airport is spread over 275 hectares area. The runway length is 2500 mtr. (8202 ft.) and is capable for the operation of narrow body aircraft like Airbus A-320 and Boeing B-737. The airport Terminal Building has the capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers during peak hours. The inauguration marked the commencement of the 61st airport under the UDAN scheme and successful operationalization of the 381 routes under UDAN. Now people can fly at ease by opting for a flight of 85 mins from Sindhudurg to Mumbai while earlier they were forced to opt for a road or train travel of more than 10 hours between these two cities. The airline M/S Alliance Air was awarded the Sindhudurg – Mumbai route under the UDAN 3.1. This is the 75th UDAN route operationalized by the airline. Alliance Air will deploy its 70-seater ATR 72-600 aircraft on the route. The financial incentives in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is being provided from the Centre, State governments & airport operators to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports under the scheme. To date, 381 routes and 61 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.

22nd Sept, 2021, New Delhi: Alliance Air will now commence daily direct flight operations from Mumbai to Sindhudurg & back effective 09th October 2021. This flight will operate under the RCS Udan Scheme of Government of India. The airline will deploy its luxurious 70 seater ATR 72 600 aircraft to connect these cities. Flight 9I 661 will depart from Mumbai at 1135 hrs and arrive in Sindhudurg at 1300 hrs. Flight 9I 662 will depart from Sindhudurg at 1325 hrs and arrive in Mumbai at 1450 hrs. Sindhudurg, is a tourist destination located along the Konkan coast, between Vengurla and Malvan. This flight will bring coastal Konkan on the national air map &add convenience and comfort to travellers creating a gateway for people to easily access the Konkan region, noted for its pristine beaches, temples and forts. The travel time between the Mumbai ; Sindhudurg by road is approximately 9 hours 23 minutes which will be reduced to just 1 hour 25 minutes of air travel for commuters.

Guwahati, 11th August 2021: Further enhancing its aerial network in the North East region, flybig has announced start of flight services between Tezu –Guwahati route from 16th August 2021 onwards. With this, flybig will develop a strong air network in Arunachal Pradesh under UDAN-RCS. Gaurav Rathore, Chief Commercial Officer, flybig said, “It gives me immense pride to announce that we have successfully established air connectivity in Tezu providingpeople of this city the freedom to travel via air.Arunachal Pradesh now has a strong air network with earlier Pasighat and now Tezu activating air service. We are grateful to the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Shri Pema Khandu for his support and guidance in carrying out the operation successfully.” Tezu – Guwahati flights will operate with a frequency of four flights per week. The launch fares start from INR 1199 making it possible for a larger number of people to travel by flight. Additionally, flybig is reintroducing the Delhi – Shillong connectivity as per the arrangement with Meghalaya Transport Corporation from 16th August 2021. Passengers can now make the booking for this service.

New Delhi, 04 August 2021: The first direct flight operations between Imphal (Manipur) & Shillong (Meghalaya) was flagged off under the RCS-UDAN by IndiGo Airlines. The aerial connectivity between the capital cities of Manipur & Meghalaya has been a long-awaited demand of the people of the region.Due to the non-availability of any direct mode of transportation, people were compelled to cover a long 12-hour journey by road to reach Shillong from Imphal or they had to take a flight to Guwahati Airport,then bus service to reach Shillong. The completion of the entire journey took more than 1 day to reach Shillong from Imphal or vice-versa. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 60 mins from Imphal to Shillong and 75 mins from Shillong to Imphal. IndiGo will operate four flights in a week and will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft. Currently, 66 UDAN routes are operational by Indigo airlines.

Delhi, 25th June 2021: Effective 12th July 2021, Alliance Air will operate a flight that connects five cities with single flight. The sectors are: Delhi-Ahmedabad-Nashik-Pune-Belagavi and back to Delhi. The airline will deploy its 70-seater ATR-72 600 aircraft to connect these cities. All of these sector flights will give the travellers multiple options for further connectivity. Flight Schedule Flight AI 9887 will depart Delhi at 6.20 am and arrives Ahmedabad at 8.35 am, departs Ahmedabad at 09.05 am and arrives Nashik at 10.20 am,than departs Nashik at 10.50 am and arrives Pune at 11.55 am and futher departs Pune at 12.25 pm and reaches Belagavi at 13.35 pm. Return Journey Flight AI 9888 will depart Belagavi at 1405 pm and arrives Pune at 1515 pm,departs Pune at 1545 pm and arrives Nashik at 1650 pm and than departs Nashik at 1720 pm and reaches Ahmedabad at 1835 pm and in its last leg departs Ahmedabad at 1905pm and reaches Delhi at 2120pm. Alliance Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India and operates under RCS UDAN mostly in the tier II and III cities of India.

Guwahati, 23rd June 2021: Flybig, the scheduled commuter airlines operating under RCS-UDAN is starting flights between Agartala and Dibrugarh from 25th June onwards further widening its network in the North East region. The flights will operate between Agartala – Dibrugarh – Agartala with a frequency of four flights per week. Flybig is gradually making its specific presence in the Northeast India by establishing connectivity between three states in the region within 50 days of its operation. Earlier, the airline started its operation from Guwahati to Rupsi, Pasighat and Kolkata in May this year. Now, with direct flights between Agartala and Dibrugarh passengers will have additional choice of travel between the two states, reducing the journey hours significantly. A distance of 750 kilometre by road that takes up approximately 12 hours can now be conveniently covered in 1.5 hours by air, thus strengthening local connectivity. Additionally, flybig is also beginning its direct flight on Agartala – Guwahati route with a morning departure from Guwahati and a return flight from Agartala in the evening. Gaurav Rathore, Chief Commercial Officer, flybig said, “We have already started the operations in eight out of sixteen routes awarded to us in the Northeast region, connecting 3 states in a notably short time. This is a moment of pride for us as we have managed to provide essential travel to people in these challenging times and continue to do so responsibly with the unlock in progression. Air connectivity between the states will stimulate development, enhance tourism potential, provide better opportunities to the youth and contribute towards shaping the economy.”

Guwahati, 24th May 2021: After flagging-off its first flight from Guwahati to Rupsi in second week of May, flybig has expanded its operations and now connects Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. New flights will provide direct connectivity between Pasighat and Guwahati under Government of India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN. A trial flight was conducted between Pasighat and Guwahati on 23rd May with scheduled flights beginning from today. In the next stage, Pasighat will also be directly connected with Shillong while Tezu will get connected to Guwahati, making it convenient and quick to travel between these cities. At the launch Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu said, “Govt of India and state Govt are tirelessly working towards improving transport and communications sector in Arunachal Pradesh under the guidance of Honourable PM Shri Narendra Modi ji. Today’s first commercial flight of flybig to Pasighat is also a result of this endeavour. With connectivity will come opportunities. Our people can take advantage of this and get connected to the world- be it for commerce, health or higher education. I convey my best wishes to flyBig team.” Direct flights between Guwahati and Pasighat will start with a frequency of four flights per week. This has not only reduced the travel hours significantly between these two destinations but has also provided swifter travelling options to other regions like Rupsi in Assam and Kolkata in West Bengal. The fares have been kept reasonable and for Guwahati starts from INR 1199. Passengers can make the bookings directly through flybig website, online travel agencies and regional travel partners. Capt.Srinivas Rao, CEO, flybig said, “This is a key part of our expansion plan in Northeast region. Our advance planning has made it possible to cater to the essential travel needs during the pandemic and start building our strategy towards a time when the pandemic will be behind us and people will once again start travelling freely. A pace of scenic beauty, Pasighatalso works as a gateway to many places of historical and religious interest, thus making it an ideal travel destination.I am grateful to the Central government and the State Government of Arunachal for all the encouragement and support to us.”