According to a release issued by the Press Information Bureau, 134 routes commenced from January 1, 2019 to December 10, 2019. The Government also operationalised 10 airports in 2019 (till 07.12.2019) out of which 4 airports are underserved and 6 airports are unserved. The underserved airports are Lilabari, Belgaum, Pantnagar& Durgapur and the unserved are Kullu, Kalaburgi, Kannar, Dimapur, Hindon and Pithoragarh. Also, 335 routes were awarded during the year 2019 covering 33 airports (20 unserved, 3 underserved, 10 water aerodromes).
According to the release, 34,74,000 approx. numbers of passengers were flown under RCS-UDAN Scheme till date. It has a direct bearing on major airports since the smaller airports have been connected to various big cities. The travelling time has reduced drastically and public at large is benefitted for the purpose of tourism, medical emergencies and religious shrines, etc.
The release further says that Rs. 304.49 crores has been spent for upgradation of existing and new airports from April to November, 2019. Belgaum, Prayagraj, Kishangarh, Hubli and Jharsuguda are the busiest airports commenced under UDAN.
