Shirdi airport may not join UDAN scheme

The soon-to-be-inaugurated airport at the temple town Shirdi is unlikely to be part of government's regional connectivity scheme (RCS) or UDAN with some stakeholders opposed to the 3-year exclusivity clause.
UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) aims at making flying affordable by capping fares at Rs 2,500 per hour on select routes and enhancing air connectivity for tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Under the scheme, airlines that win the bid for a route gain exclusively right to operate on it for three year.
Airline operators are also provided a subsidy by the Centre and the state governments concerned, along with incentives by the airport, in order offer low fares to passengers.

"Airlines have been demanding that exclusivity clause be removed for the Shirdi airport and if that can't be done the airport should be removed from RCS category," said a civil aviation ministry official.
The Maharashtra government, too, is opposed to the airport being included in RCS as it would restrict the number of operators because of the exclusivity clause, while the travel demand for the pilgrim town is expected to be very high, said an official at the ministry.

Suresh Kakani, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited, said they have raised these concerns before the Civil Aviation Ministry, which, he said, is "willing" to address them.

"If we go for RCS, only one airline can fly on a route which is not good for Shirdi as a single carrier will not be able to sustain the traffic," he argued.
He also said a huge travel demand is expected to and from the airport as Shirdi is a famous pilgrim centre, so there is no need for a government support to promote air travel to the town.
The airport is being built at a cost of Rs 340 crore, with Rs 45 crore funded by the Saibaba Sansthan Trust and the rest by the state government.
It is likely to be inaugurated next month.

The first round of bidding for RCS took place in March when five airline operators were awarded 128 routes.
The ministry is now preparing for a second round of bidding by August. Top officials are likely to meet next week to finalise the list of airports and routes which will be placed for bidding.