New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three more regional airports on Sunday on the occasion of completion of eight years of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). These include Rewa airport in Madhya Pradesh, Saharanpur airport in Uttar Pradesh and Ambikapur airport in Chhattisgarh.

Prime Minister Modi virtually inaugurated these three airports from Varanasi. Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme was launched on 21 October eight years ago under the Regional Connectivity Scheme to connect small cities of the country with each other through air travel. The result was that air travel from Darbhanga in Bihar and Jharsuguda in Odisha to big cities like Delhi became possible and people of small cities started traveling by air.

The first service was started from Shimla to Delhi

The first air service under the Udan scheme was started from Shimla to Delhi. Since then, 1.5 crore people have travelled by air under this scheme alone. Due to the construction of airports and starting air travel from there under RCS, the number of operational airports has increased from 74 to 157 in the last 10 years.

The government has set a target to increase the number of airports to 400 by the year 2047. Under RCS, the construction of airports in remote hilly areas like Pithoragarh has made it easier to reach Dehradun from there and this service is also helping the country strategically. Under the Udan service, the state government charges less VAT on fuel and also provides various types of necessary assistance, which reduces the price of passenger tickets.

Tourism is getting a boost

According to the Aviation Ministry, with the start of flight services, the business of this sector is also changing rapidly. The business of regional airline companies Flybig, Star Air, India One, Fly 91 is increasing and passengers will benefit from the increased competition among them in the future.

Tourism in small cities is getting a boost due to flight services. With the opening of airports in cities like Khajuraho, Deoghar, Amritsar, Kishangarh (Ajmer), the number of tourists is increasing continuously there. With the restoration of flight services in small cities like Pasighat, Hollongi, Ziro, Tezu, tourism in the North-East is getting a boost.