Aviation ministry to commence flights to Vellore under UDAN scheme: Scindia

The Centre would soon commence a new route connecting Vellore under its flagship UDAN scheme, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said here on Saturday.

As many as 473 new routes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme launched by the Centre to boost air connectivity in Tier-II and -III cities, he said at an event here.

"In terms of airport, Salem airport has been operationalised (in Tamil Nadu). Vellore will be operational in the next couple of months. Fourteen routes of UDAN will be coming in Tamil Nadu," he said soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new integrated terminal building at the Chennai airport here set up at a cost of Rs 1,260 crore.

Scindia said under the UDAN Yojana 1.20 crore people have benefited who could never have dreamt of travelling in an aeroplane.

The Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme was launched as a programme to offer air connectivity in Tier-II and -III cities by the Union government.

Scindia said the new integrated building at the airport stands as a 'testament' to a new phase of civil aviation under the leadership of Modi.

"Civil aviation is changing and our country which had only passenger throughput of six crore (before 2014) has more than doubled in the last nine years to 14.5 crore per year across India," he said.

Scindia said the air passenger throughput also reached pre-Covid levels with 4.55 lakh passengers currently travelling in a day as against 4.20 lakh passengers.

Maintaining that the country had only 74 airports in operations for 65 years after attaining Independence he said the government built additional 74 new airports, heliports and waterdomes totalling to 148.

"The Prime Minister is very clear in that direction. India has to move forward and upwards. We will build more than 200 airports, waterdomes and heliports in the next four to five years," he said.

Scindia referred to the disinvestment of Air India which had made the largest order in the international civil aviation history.

"So, times are changing and with newfound growth, Chennai emerges as one of the biggest gateways of the country and is the third largest airport of India with 43 domestic and 24 international connections," he said.

The international terminal building would handle passenger throughput of about 3 crore from the earlier 2.3 crore. "In the second phase of growth, Chennai airport will grow from 3 crore to 3.50 crore passengers in the next two years," he said.

The new terminal, he said, has 60 per cent of energy contributed from renewable sources and also has multi-modal connectivity with direct link to Chennai metro.

Every airport is a gateway to India and the country's rich cultural heritage must be exhibited with the new integrated terminal putting on display 13 paintings of the biggest temples in Tamil Nadu, he said.