Govt says Rs 268 cr collected as UDAN levy from airlines

The government today said an amount of Rs 268.10 crore has been collected as levy from various airlines towards regional air connectivity scheme.

The scheme, also known as 'Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik', seeks to connect unserved and under-serve airports. To fund the scheme, an amount of Rs 5,000 is collected from airlines on every flight operated on major routes.

"All scheduled airline operators have been remitting the RCS levy. Total funds collected from RCS levy till August 3, 2018 is Rs 268.10 crore approximately," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha.

In a written reply, he also said that no revenue has been earned by the Regional Air Connectivity Fund Trust (RACFT) under the scheme except for deposits of RCS levy.

Responding to a query, he said the Tourism Ministry has requested for introduction of "cities/ towns/ places of tourist importance" under the scheme.

Many routes awarded under UDAN are already operational.

"Deccan Air and Air Odisha stopped their services in four sectors duee to technical snag and slot allocation issues," Sinha said.