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.