Advertisement Space — Coming Soon
MoCA celebrates 9th UDAN Anniversary
21st October 2025
- Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) celebrated the 9th anniversary of the Regional Connectivity Scheme – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik)
- UDAN was launched on 21st October 2016 under the National Civil Aviation Policy, and has been a transformational initiative aimed at making air travel affordable and accessible to the common citizen
- The first UDAN flight between Shimla and Delhi, marked a new era in regional aviation connectivity
- Under the scheme, 649 routes have been operationalized connecting 93 unserved and underserved airports, including 15 heliports and 2 water aerodromes, facilitating over 1.56 crore passengers through 3.23 lakh UDAN flights
- To support airline operators and regional infrastructure, the Government has disbursed more than Rs. 4,300 crore as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and invested Rs. 4,638 crore in airport development under RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme)
- A key recent initiative has been the introduction of Comprehensive Guidelines for Seaplane Operations in August 2024, and the launch of the UDAN 5.5, a special bidding round for seaplanes and helicopters. Under this round, Letters of Intent have been issued for 150 routes connecting 30 water aerodromes across various coastal and island regions
- The Secretary reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to continue the scheme beyond April 2027 through an Expanded UDAN Framework, focusing on connectivity with hilly, North-Eastern, and aspirational regions, and the development of around 120 new destination