The Government has said, more than one crore 49 lakh passengers have benefited from the affordable regional air travel scheme, UDAN. The scheme was launched in October 2016 to provide connectivity to unserved and underserved regions through revival of existing air strips and airports. The Civil Aviation Ministry has said that 625 UDAN routes have been operationalised, connecting 90 airports across the country. It said, India’s airport network expanded to more than double in a decade from 74 airports in 2014 to 159 airports in 2024.