The government today informed the Rajya Sabha that 609 routes connecting 86 unserved and underserved airports have so far been operationalized under the UDAN scheme in the country. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Civil Aviation K Ramamohan Naidu said these include 13 heliports and two water dromes. He said more than 146 lakh domestic passengers have travelled through 2.86 lakh RegionalConnectivity Scheme flights. Of the 21 greenfield airports given in-principle approval, 12 have been set up and operationalized. The airports at Navi Mumbai, Vijayapura, Noida, Hassan, Dholera, Bhogapuram are likely to be completed within the next two years.
The Minister observed that airports have emerged as a nucleus of economic activities and have a multiplier effect on the economy.
