Centre to include 4 Odisha airstrips under Udan scheme

Bhubaneswar, Sept 9: To provide affordable, economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes to the common man even in small towns, four more airstrips in Odisha will b included under Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) 5.0 scheme. In Odisha, airstrips near tourist destinations, including Baripada, Konark, Hirakud and Malkangiri have been proposed to be developed as potential airports. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) planned to connect more than 54 wildlife and tourism destinations in regional connectivity initiative UDAN scheme. Earlier, the airstrips at Jeypore in Koraput, Rourkela in Sundergarh and Utkela in Kalahandi were included under the scheme but yet to start the operation while two airports at Veer Surendra Sai Airport (VSSA) in Jharsuguda and Biju Patnaik International Airport at Bhubaneswar are operational now. UDAN is a regional airport development and regional connectivity scheme aimed at making air travel affordable and widespread for the common citizen for national economic development, job growth and air infrastructure of all regions and state in the country. More than one crore passengers have availed the benefits of this scheme as on 4th August 2022. Moreover, 220 destinations (airports/heliports/water aerodromes) under UDAN are targeted to be completed by 2026 with 1000 routes to provide air connectivity to unconnected destinations in the country. Under UDAN, 954 routes have already been awarded to connect 156 airports. Worth mentioning, the UDAN scheme was started in October 2016 to provide air connectivity in tier II and tier III cities and make flying affordable for common citizens. It was launched to enhance regional air connectivity from unserved and underserved airports in the country.