Guwahati May Be First City To Get International Connectivity Under UDAN

With the Centre finalising bids for the Guwahati-Dhaka and Guwahati-Bangkok routes, Assam's largest city is likely to be the first to be connected internationally under the UDAN scheme, a senior official said Monday.

“There was competition for these two cities. There were more than one bid. We have finalised the bid for Bangkok as well as Dhaka. The file is already with the minister, the day he signs it, we will announce,” an aviation ministry official said.

Multiple bids were received by the government on these two routes but there were no takers for four other destinations—Singapore, Yangon in Myanmar, Kathmandu in Nepal and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Under the UDAN scheme for affordable international connectivity, Assam government is likely to provide a subsidy of Rs 2,370 and Rs 4,400 for a certain number of seats on flights operating on the Guwahati-Dhaka and Guwahati-Bangkok routes, respectively.

Under international mode of the UDAN scheme, the subsidy will come from the states and not the central government. Moreover, unlike the domestic scheme, no airline will be given exclusivity over a particular route under the international one.

On Oct. 14 last year, the central government invited proposals from interested air operators for the international scheme as it seeks to enhance air connectivity from India to select overseas destinations.

The government, in an effort to make flying affordable, had in October 2016 announced the UDAN—Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik—scheme with airfares capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour journey through subsidised ticket rates and to provide air connectivity to smaller towns.

Five airlines were mandated to fly on 128 regional routes in the first phase of the bidding in March 2017, and 15 airlines on 325 regional routes, including those having chopper operations, in the second phase in January last year.