On January 14, 2021 Haryana Chief Minister(CM) Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated India’s 1st air taxi service from Chandigarh to the newly constructed Hisar airport in Haryana under Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of Govt of India. As part of the inauguration, Haryana CM flagged off the 1st flight from Chandigarh under the scheme.
i.It is the 1st time in India a small aircraft is being used for services in form of an air taxi
ii.The airline Aviation Connectivity & Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (Air Taxi) will operate the air taxi services and has become the 1st startup airline of India to assist India with this service.
iii.This service uses Tecnam P2006T VT aircraft, a twin-engine four-seat plane.
Note– A fleet of these aircrafts have been produced by Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam.
Flagging off Marks 54th Airport operationalization under UDAN scheme:
This flagging off marks operationalization of 54th airport under the UDAN scheme.
Under the UDAN scheme, till date, 307 routes and 54 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalized.
Launch is in line with GoI’s Objective:
In accordance with the objective of Indian government to provide air connectivity between metros and Tier-2, Tier-3 cities across the country, the air taxi service was launched under the UDAN scheme.
Gist about Air Taxi Services
PhasesÂ
2nd Phase
Air taxi services for Hisar to Dehradun will be started in the 2nd phase on on January 18, 2021.
3rd Phase
2 more routes from Chandigarh to Dehradun and Hisar to Dharamshala will be added in the 3rd phase on 23rd January, 2021
Other Routes
Air Taxi also plans to include Shimla, Kullu and more Haryana routes.
Speed Limit, Journey Time & Fare
i.It has a speed limit of 250 km/hour.
ii.Through these flights, the journey between Hisar to Chandigarh becomes 45 minutes from 4.5 hours.
iii.A passenger has to pay a fare of Rs 1,755 to travel.
- The fare is affordable as the financial incentives are being provided from the Centre, State governments and airport operators to selected airlines in form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
- This is to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports under the scheme.
About Hisar Airport:
i.Hisar Airport belonging to Civil Aviation Department, Haryana is a public licensed airport that is suitable for 18 seat type aircraft.
ii.The Ministry of Civil Aviation in technical collaboration with the Airports Authority of India(AAI) upgraded the airport as an international airport as it aligns with the objectives of UDAN scheme.
iii.Government of India had sanctioned ₹28.60 crore for the development of the interim civil aviation operations. The land was handed over to the AAI for the up-gradation and development of the Hisar airport.
Gist about UDAN:
General Info
i.It is a flagship scheme of Indian government to facilitate / stimulate regional air connectivity across India.
ii.It is a key component of National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016 released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Aim
To provide affordable, economically viable and profitable air travel on regional routes and also to develop regional airports in India.
Implementing Agency
AAI is the implementing agency of the scheme
UDAN 4.0 Launched
UDAN 4.0 was launched in December 2019 with special focus on North-Eastern Regions, Hilly States and Islands.
Recent Related News:
i.On December 28, 2020, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated India’s 1st ever Driverless Train Operations on Delhi Metro’s 38 Kilometres long Magenta Line which connects Janakpuri West & Botanical Garden in Noida. PM also inaugurated the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line of Delhi Metro.
ii.On September 8th, 2020, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa launched the Country’s First Integrated Air Ambulance Services at Jakkur Aerodrome, Bangalore.It is the first air ambulance operating from South India to provide services for medical emergencies.
About Haryana:
Airport– Ambala Air Force Station, Hisar Airport, Sirsa Air Force Station
Bird Sanctuary– Khaparwas Wildlife bird Sanctuary, Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary
