Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia unveiled on Thursday a 100-day ambitious plan to bring major reforms in the aviation sector, including operationalising five airports, six heliports and 50 new routes under the regional connectivity UDAN scheme. The 50 new routes is to link smaller towns and cities to the wider air travel network through the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) will be operational by November-end.
Scindia also unveiled a ’16-pointer 100-day agenda’ to improve the aviation infrastructure in the country. Among the 16 points, four are on infrastructure, eight on policy targets and four on reforms initiative. Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Scindia said that the government will upgrade or develop four new airports — Kushinagar, Dehradun, Agartala and Jewar. “First would be the airport in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh. It will have the capacity for the successful landing of Airbus 321 and Boeing 737 flights and it is ready for the inauguration. Kushinagar will become the focal point of the Buddhist circuit and it is being constructed at the cost of Rs 255 crore,” he said. The civil aviation minister said that a new terminal building will come up at Dehradun airport, Uttarakhand and Rs 457 crore will be invested for its construction and the airport will be able to facilitate 1,800 people after the proposed expansion. At present, the airport can handle 250 passengers on an hourly basis.
Under the 100-day scheme, the airports are set to come up in Keshod (Gujarat), Deogarh (Jharkhand), Gondia(Maharashtra), Sindhudurg(Maharashtra), and Kushinagar(Uttar Pradesh), while heliports will be made operational in Sanjoli(Shimla), Sase (Manali), Mandi, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Haldwani, Almora (Uttarakhand), he added. A grievance portal, AirSewa 3.0, will also be set up as part of the plan. Scindia said airlines will now be responsible for ensuring that passengers get refunds within the promised timeframe, even if tickets are bought through travel agents or online portals.
