Ministry of Civil Aviation introduces UDAN 5.0

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has begun the fifth round of the Regional connection Scheme (RCS) - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) to further improve connection to rural and regional areas of the nation and attain last mile connectivity after the first four rounds of bidding were successful. The following are UDAN 5.0's main features: Category-2 (20–80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats) are the main emphasis of this cycle of UDAN. There are no restrictions on the distance between the flight's origin and destination, and the prior stage length cap of 600 km is lifted. The maximum stage length for viability gap funding (VGF), which was previously set at 500 km, is now 600 km for both priority and non-priority areas. No pre-planned routes would be available. Only airline-proposed networks and individual routes will be taken into consideration. After two months have passed after the LoA was issued, the airlines would have to present a business plan or action plan outlining how they will acquire aircraft and what will be available in terms of slots, crew, and other resources at the time of the technical proposal. No airline will receive the same route more than once, whether it is inside the same network or a different network. To avoid abusing the monopoly on a route, exclusivity will be revoked if the average quarterly PLF is more than 75% for four consecutive quarters. For every month of delay up to a maximum of 4 months, 25% of the Performance Guarantee will be forfeited, providing additional motivation for swift operationalisation. Within 4 months following the route's award, airlines would have to start operating. This deadline used to be six months. To enable rapid operationalization of routes under the Scheme, a list of airports that are ready for operation or will soon be ready for operation has been included in the plan. The procedure of novating routes from one operator to another is streamlined and reinforced. Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation & Steel, commented on the opening of UDAN 5.0 by saying, UDAN has proven to be a lifeblood of many regions that are now well connected with places across the country. This improved and more powerful version of the plan will increase momentum, connect new routes, and get us one step closer to the goal of operationalising 1,000 routes and 50 more airports, heliports, and water aerodromes soon. A wide range of stakeholders have benefited from the UDAN Scheme. Air connectivity has benefited passengers, airlines have benefited from incentives for operating regional flights, and unserved regions have benefited both directly and indirectly from it in terms of their ability to grow their economies. Also read: India signs deals with EU in aviation safety, air traffic control Delhi airport's new terminal, fourth runway to be operational in Sept