Alliance Air now connects Sindhudurg with Mumbai under Udan scheme
13 Nov 2021
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Union minister of civil aviation, Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Saturday virtually inaugurated the greenfield Sindhudurg airport in Maharashtra and also flagged off the first flight from Sindhudurg to Mumbai under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the Government of India.
Alliance Air has been awarded the Sindhudurg-Mumbai route under the UDAN 3.1. This is the 75th UDAN route operationalised by the airline. Alliance Air will deploy its 70-seater ATR 72-600 aircraft on the route.
The inauguration of the Sindhudurg airport pins the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra on the national air map. These new flights will further add convenience and comfort to travellers creating a gateway for the people to easily access the Konkan region noted for its pristine beaches, temples, and forts.
These new flights will facilitate people of Sindhudurg not only in their travel to Mumbai but also open the horizon of additional connectivity with other metro cities directly connected with Mumbai such as Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad. Moreover, the Sindhudurg airport is a good option for people travelling to North-Goa.
“The inauguration of the Sindhudurg airport and start of flight to Mumbai marks a new chapter in the glorious history of the Konkan region. This development will open new avenues of growth of local trade and tourism. I am sure, with huge potential of the region, number of daily flights will increase to 20-25 within next 5 years,” the civil aviation minister said in his address.
Sindhudurg Airport, also known as Chipi Airport, is spread over 275 hectares. The runway has a length of 2,500 mtr (8,202 ft), which is enough for the operation of narrow body aircraft like Airbus A-320 and Boeing B-737. The airport Terminal Building has the capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers during peak hours.
The inauguration marked the commencement of the 61st airport under the UDAN scheme and successful operationalisation of the 381st route under UDAN. Now people can fly at ease by opting for a flight of 85 mins from Sindhudurg to Mumbai while earlier they were forced to opt for a road or train travel of more than 10 hours between these two cities.
The financial incentives in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is being provided by the central and state governments and airport operators to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports under the scheme.
To date, 381 routes and 61 airports, including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes, have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme.
