Government puts up 11 airports in Jammu and Kashmir for bidding under regional air connectivity scheme

New Delhi : The Government has put up as many as 11 Jammu and Kashmir airports up for bidding under the new phase of its UDAN scheme, said a release.

Till date, since the inception of the scheme, 688 routes have been awarded to various air operators under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) that seeks to connect unserved as well as underserved destinations and also make flying more affordable.

The fourth round of scheme will primarily be focusing on the North East region, hilly states, Ladakh, Jammu and Kahsmir.

The 11 airports in Jammu and Kashmir that will be put for the bidding are Akhnur, Chamb, Chushal, Fukche, Gurex, Jhangar, Miran Sahib, Panzgam, Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur.

The two aerodromes in Ladakh are at Kargil and Thoise.

"The objective is to establish strong air connectivity and to boost the tourism sector," the release said.

Under UDAN 4.0, the initial proposals can be submitted by January 1, 2020 and the counter proposals can be submitted by January 13, 2020. The declaration of selected airline operator and issue of letter of award (LoA) would be done on January 31, 2020.

Among other incentives, the ministry would be extending additional viability gap funding of around 25 per cent to the participating airlines under UDAN 4.0.