Air connectivity News

Mahakumbh Mela 2025: The Maha Kumbh is one of the world's largest and most significant religious gatherings, held every 12 years at one of four sacred locations in India.  

The scheme UDAN envisages providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country through the revival of existing air-strips and airports.

"Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) regional air connectivity scheme, 33 airports have been already included since its launch last year in addition to 75 taking the total to 108. We intend to take the number to 200," Sinha said.

The government is looking to "refine" the present norms for regional air connectivity scheme as it prepares for the second round of bidding in three months, according to a senior official.

Five airlines including an Air India subsidiary and Spicejet on Thursday won bids to operate on 128 routes connecting 70 airports of which 31 are unserved under the regional connectivity scheme where fares are capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights.  

In a boost to regional air connectivity, state-owned Air India on Wednesday said it will launch its flight services to Gorakhpur from here, which will be operated six days a week.

Airlines and private charter operators have opposed the government's draft policy on air connectivity to regional and remote areas, saying it will have severe impact on their financial strength.

The connectivity is also very important for the growth in tourism and therefore, Abu Dhabi will put in more efforts to connect to more and more Indian cities.