Aviation minister has launched the UDAN flight between cities of Uttarakhand
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, virtually inaugurated a UDAN flight that links Dehradun and Pithoragarh. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also participated in the event remotely from Pithoragarh. The flight service, facilitated by Fly Big under the RCS UDAN Scheme, connects the two cities. Pithoragarh Airport, developed at a cost of Rs 6.68 crore under the UDAN-RCS scheme, has been transformed into a 2B VFR Airport. The RCS flight connecting Dehradun and Pithoragarh was granted under UDAN 4.2, and Fly Big will operate a 19-seater Twin Otter DHC 6-400 aircraft. Minister Scindia mentioned that the flight service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh will operate three days a week.
He mentioned, "With the commencement of this flight service, the lengthy 11-hour road journey will now be reduced to just one hour. This air connectivity is expected to enhance tourism opportunities in Pithoragarh and its surrounding areas, while also linking the eastern regions of Uttarakhand to the state capital, Dehradun". Expanding on the initiatives under the UDAN scheme, Scindia explained that the development of heliports in Dharchula, Haridwar, Joshimath, Mussoorie, Nainital, and Ramnagar is underway. Regarding additional infrastructure development through UDAN, he stated, "We have identified five more heliports in UDAN 5.1 Round, namely Bageshwar, Champawat, Lansdowne, Munsiyari, and Triyogi Narayan Heliports. Development work on these five heliports will commence soon".
The minister mentioned, "Up to now, the state of Uttarakhand has been granted 76 routes under UDAN, with 40 routes, including Dehradun-Pithoragarh, already in operation. Our goal is to operationalize the remaining routes at the earliest. Additionally, we recently inaugurated the Interim Terminal Building in Dehradun, and the construction of the full-fledged terminal will be completed soon." Regarding the development at Dehradun airport, Scindia stated, "Constructed at a cost of Rs 457 crore, the New Terminal building spans 42,776 square meters and has the capacity to accommodate 1,800 passengers during peak hours and serve 36.5 lakh passengers annually".
