SpiceJet, the country’s favourite low-cost carrier, was today awarded 6 proposals and 11 routes under the first phase of the Government of India’s UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme, the airline said.
Out of the six finalised proposals, four will be to Adampur, Kandla, Pondicherry and Jaisalmer whereas two will be for underserved markets of Porbandar and Kanpur.
Under the UDAAN scheme, airlines will get a subsidy of a few thousand rupees per passenger depending on the length of the route. The scheme is meant to help connect poorly connected cities.
SpiceJet will be serving 6 airports by operating flights on the routes of Adampur–Delhi-Adampur, Kandla–Mumbai-Kandla, Pondicherry–Hyderabad-Pondicherry, Mumbai-Porbandar, Jaisalmer– Jaipur-Jaisalmer and Kanpur– Delhi-Kanpur.
Under the scheme, SpiceJet has three years exclusivity on the routes which makes it the only airline to operate on these sectors.
Moreover the airline is also set to benefit from the reduced cost on account of low ATF tax besides exemption from landing and parking charges in these airports as proposed under the RCS (regional connectivity scheme).
“The RCS is a unique and innovative program designed by the government to connect unutilized and under-utilized airports in the country and bring them into the national aviation mainstream. We are happy that 43 airports that have not been connected so far are being connected under this scheme and we congratulate the government and the people of these cities,” said Mr. Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet.
SpiceJet has 17 Bombardier Q400 aircrafts with a seating capacity of 78 which will be used on all RCS routes.
The airline is currently the largest player in the country under the regional connectivity scheme. The selected RCS sectors will be further connected to SpiceJet’s existing domestic and international network through onward connections, it said.