9-seater aircraft from Vellore to Chennai, Bengaluru

RESIDENTS of Vellore region will soon be able to fly to Chennai and Bengaluru. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has declared that development work at Vellore airport has been completed and the licensing process is under way.

Union Minister of state for Civil Aviation V K Singh was responding to a query from DMK member M Shanmugam in the Rajya Sabha.

The member sought to know when the Vellore (Abdullahpuram) airport would be made operational under the UDAN project.

“The development work of Vellore airport has been completed. The licensing of the airport is under process. After it is ready, Air Taxi, the selected airline operator, may start operations from Vellore to Chennai and Bengaluru with 9-seater aircraft,” the minister said.

The airport was identified for operation of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN, during the second round of bidding. It was taken up for development under the scheme of ‘revival and upgradation of unserved and underserved airports.’ The aerodrome is in an area of 51.5 acres and has an 800m runway that remained non-functional for a long time.

The civil work had been completed and the application for licence had been submitted to the ministry for clearance, said a source. “The director general of civil aviation is expected to pay a visit to the site before it is opened for operation which may be before the month-end,” said an official.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the construction of nine more airports in Uttar Pradesh over the next two years.

The total number of airports, heliports, and waterdromes in India has reached 149 under the Modi government.

Three airports have been constructed in UP in the last nine years, and this number will increase to 18 with the upcoming projects. Scindia also mentioned the Meerut airport, which was identified under the UDAN scheme for development and RCS flights.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has a tariff monitoring unit that looks at fares of 60 routes on a random basis. The unit monitors fares 30 days, 15 days, 7 days, 3 days, 2 days, and 1 day ahead of the scheduled flight. The monitoring ensures that airfares are regulated and do not rise exorbitantly.

Airlines have faced significant financial losses in the last 3 years, with losses amounting to Rs 55,000 crores to 1,32,000 crores annually. The increase in air turbine fuel prices has also impacted operational costs, but airfares have not risen proportionately.