Scindia inaugurates Udan 5.2, lauds civil aviation’s rapid growth
Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Schindia inaugurated Udan 5.2 scheme to connect remote areas of the country through small aircrafts
Bhopal/Sagar: Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday hailed the exponential growth in the aviation sector over the last few years as he inaugurated a new phase of the “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” scheme, or Udan 5.2, to improve last-mile connectivity in remote regions of the country through small aircraft.
Udan 5.2, which was launched in October 2016, aims to enhance the connectivity to remote areas of the country and achieve last-mile connectivity through small aircraft such as 1A (with less than nine seats) and Category 1(with less than 20 seats).
“Today we have also started Udan 5.2 for small aircraft. We have awarded 22 routes, which underlines the fact that air travel facility is being made available to citizens living in remote areas, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Scindia said at the fifth Helicopter and Small Aircraft Summit 2023 at Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
During the event, the Union minister also launched the HeliSewa App and inaugurated three Flight Training Organisations (FTO) — two pilot training academies and one helicopter training institute.
“In the last nine years, the aviation sector has seen exponential growth. 148 airports, including nine heliports & two water aerodromes, have been developed during the period, which would go up to 200 over the next four years,” Scindia said as he pointed out a 75% growth in the fleet size — from 400 aeroplanes in 2013 to 700 now.
“The country’s civil aviation sector has been democratised in the last nine years. Along with the number of airports, there has been a vast expansion in the number of aircraft and the market size. And in this expansion big metro airports and large airlines are as important as small town airports, small airlines and helicopters,” he added.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pawan Hans and Jetserve was signed for advancing the Helicopter and Small Aircraft sector in India.
Inaugurating the FTOs in Khajuraho, Scindia said: “In 2016, there were only 28 flying academy organisations which has now increased to 57. Last year, 1135 commercial pilot licenses were issued by DGCA which is a record in itself. This year that number has increased to 731 in just five months.”
With this, the number of FTOs in Madhya Pradesh has risen to six — three in Khajuraho, and one each in Indore, Sagar and Guna.
During the event, the Union minister also announced aircraft services between Khajuraho and Varanasi.
“Khajuraho has a rich heritage of culture, it is our resolve to connect Khajuraho through air mode,” he said
The HeliSewa mobile application, meanwhile, is an initiative of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under Digital India to “create a common platform to create an ecosystem between the helicopter operators and the district authorities”, Scindia said.
“In HeliSewa, we have also started a single-window service platform. Through this, aviation companies will be able to get all the approvals from ATC on the mobile,” he said.
Hailing the inauguration of FTOs, MP VD Sharma said: “I would like to thank the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. PM Modi’s vision and efforts have now made it possible for youngsters to fulfil their dreams of being a pilot without travelling abroad.”
Chhatarpur collector Sandeep GR said, “Khajuraho has a world-class airport but it is not being used much so through these two pilot training academies and a helicopter training academy, it will be used effectively. Similarly, this area has clear weather and a wide-open area without any high-rise buildings. These are the reasons behind choosing it for three academies.”