Udan Utsav celebrations at Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda, Odisha

“Jharsuguda airport was a perfect example of cooperative federalism and a great success story of UDAN scheme. It was an example of how the Centre and state’s joint work could do wonders.”

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has democratised the Indian air space, said Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia during the Udan Utsav celebrations on November 22, 2021.

He said that the development of Jharsuguda airport was a perfect example of cooperative federalism and a great success story of UDAN scheme. It was an example of how the Centre and state’s joint work could do wonders, the minister added.

Scindia said that while all the airports around the country were witnessing a steep decline in the number of flyers during the Covid pandemic time, Jharsuguda airport was among those few, which witnessed something different. “The number of flyers across the country during the pandemic saw a decline of 62% while Jharsuguda during the same time, witnessed a mere drop of 5%. This shows the potential of the district and the region at large,” he said.

The Minister while speaking about the success of UDAN scheme over the years, said that the country had only 72 airports since independence while after 2014, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the number of airports now stood at 136. “We have set a target to increase this number by 220 in the next five years which will include helipads and water aerodromes. The number of airlines, routes have also increased significantly over the years due to the advent of UDAN scheme,” Scindia added.

Talking about airport expansions in Odisha, the Minister said the Greenfield Airport at Puri and the Phase II expansion of Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Jharsuguda will commence following responses from the state government.

“We have set a target to increase this number by 220 in the next five years which will include helipads and water aerodromes. The number of airlines, routes have also increased significantly over the years due to the advent of UDAN scheme.”

— Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Union Minister for Civil Aviation

During the event, the Minister interacted with the airport directors/officials and beneficiary flyers of UDAN who were connected from different parts of the country through Video conferencing. The Minister also unveiled a ‘Socio-economic Impact Study Report of UDAN Scheme’ conducted by Indian School of Business. He also witnessed the exchange of partnership agreement between UDAN and Make My Trip. On the occasion, the results of UDAN Logo competition were announced. The Minister also flagged off new air route between Shillong and Dimapur under RCS Scheme.

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