The fifth round of the regional air connectivity scheme launched by the government

On Friday, the government launched the fifth round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) in a bid to enhance connectivity to remote and regional areas. The scheme, known as UDAN 5.0, will see a cap on the viability gap funding (VGF) at 600 kilometers of stage length for both priority and non-priority areas. This is an increase from the previous cap of 500 km.

Furthermore, the authority will require airlines to submit network and individual route proposals because they will not offer any pre-determined routes. This move aims to provide more flexibility to airlines and ensure better connectivity to remote and regional areas, according to the civil aviation ministry.

UDAN 5.0 will focus on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (more than 80 seats) under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme, as the government seeks to expand air connectivity to these regions.

UDAN

The distance cap of 600 kilometers that was previously imposed during the earlier stage has been removed, as stated in the release. As a result, there is no longer a limit on the span between the origin and the destination of the flight.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Civil Aviation Minister, stated that this enhanced and more potent version of the scheme will increase momentum, establish new connections, and bring us closer to our goal of launching 1,000 routes and 50 additional airports, heliports, and water aerodromes in the near future.

Under UDAN 5.0, airlines must submit an action/business plan after two months from the issuance of the LoA (Letter of Acceptance), according to the release. The plan must include information on their aircraft acquisition plan, the availability of aircraft, crew, and slots at the time of the technical proposal.

The release stated that the authorities will not grant the same route to a single airline more than once, whether in different networks or within the same network. Additionally, exclusivity will be withdrawn if the average quarterly PLF (Passenger Load Factor) surpasses 75% for four consecutive quarters to avoid the exploitation of the monopoly on a route.

The ministry has announced a reduction in the deadline for airlines to begin operating a route from six months to four months. As an incentive to promote prompt operationalization of routes, the ministry has proposed encashing 25% of the performance guarantee amount for each month of delay of up to four months. In a series of tweets, the ministry stated that UDAN 5.0 brings with it “game-changing features to fly into the future.” The scheme was first introduced in 2017.

Also Read: Indian Aviation News and Aviation News

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