Karnataka Activates 7 Airports Under UDAN, Connecting 118 Routes

Quick Summary

• Seven of karnataka’s nine airports have been operationalised under the RCS-UDAN scheme, including Bidar, Mysuru, Vidyanagar, Hubbali, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, and Shivamogga.
• Under the initiative:

– ₹146.89 crore has been utilised for development.
– 118 air routes have been operationalised.
– Bidar airport connects to Bengaluru via Star Air.

• The government indicated that most routes with expired RCS tenure remain financially viable and continue commercially; others are revived through bidding rounds.
• Development updates on other Karnataka regions:

– Airports in Ballari and Kolar received bids for small aircraft operations under UDAN 5.2.
– No bids were received for Kushalnagar,Raichur,and Hassan due to challenges such as land provision requirements by local authorities (free of cost and encumbrance-free).

• Project timelines depend on factors like land acquisition processes and clearances.

Indian Opinion Analysis
The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) is evidently enabling enhanced air connectivity across non-metropolitan areas in Karnataka. With seven airports already operational under this initiative, the increased accessibility fosters regional economic integration while promoting balanced infrastructure growth beyond urban centers like Bengaluru.

The financial viability of post-RCS route operations reflects both demand generation success by the scheme and also latent market potential in smaller cities. However, challenges related to new airport development-particularly around land acquisition-highlight policy bottlenecks that could delay progress in underserved regions such as Raichur or Hassan.

India’s focus on initiatives like UDAN underscores a push to democratize air travel while catalyzing regional development. Addressing procedural hurdles more efficiently would help fully realize these objectives across even more locations.

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