Scindia Inaugurates UDAN Flight Service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh
GG News Bureau
Dehradun, 31st Jan. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday virtually inaugurated a UDAN flight service connecting Dehradun and Pithoragarh from New Delhi. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami also participated in the event from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.
The flight between the two cities will be operated by “Fly Big” under the RCS UDAN Scheme. Pithoragarh Airport has been developed into a 2B VFR Airport under the UDAN-RCS scheme, with a cost of Rs 6.68 Crore. Fly Big will use a 19-seater Twinotter DHC6-400 aircraft to transport passengers. Initially, the flight will operate three days a week.
This new route will improve regional connectivity and boost trade, commerce, and tourism between the cities.
Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, stated in his inaugural address that the flight service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh will operate three days a week (Monday, Tuesday, and Friday). He mentioned that the journey, which used to take approximately 11 hours by road, will now be completed in just one hour. This flight service will enhance the tourism potential of Pithoragarh and neighboring areas and connect the eastern regions of Uttarakhand to the capital city of Dehradun.
Furthermore, Scindia highlighted the development of other heliports under the UDAN scheme, including Almora, Chinyalisaur, Gauchar, Sahastradhara, New Tehri, and Haldwani Heliports. He also mentioned the identification of five additional heliports under UDAN 5.1 Round, namely Bageshwar, Champawat, Lansdowne, Munsiyari, and Triyogi Narayan Heliports, which will undergo development soon.
Uttarakhand has been actively implementing the UDAN scheme, with 76 routes awarded in the state. Out of these, 40 routes, including Dehradun-Pithoragarh, are already operational. Efforts are being made to make the remaining routes operational as well. Additionally, the Interim Terminal Building of Dehradun has recently been inaugurated, and work on the full-fledged building will be completed soon.
Scindia also provided details about the development work at Dehradun airport, stating that the new terminal building, covering an area of 42,776 square meters, can accommodate 1800 passengers during peak hours and 36.5 lakh passengers annually. He emphasized the significant increase in flight operations, from 86 flights per week in 2014 to 210 flights per week currently, representing a 144% increase.
Scindia further mentioned that air services are now being operated from four airports and heliports in Uttarakhand, compared to only one airport in 2014. This number is expected to increase to 15 in the future.
The event was attended by Vumlunmang Vualnam, Secretary, MoCA, Govt. of India, Asangba Chuba Ao, Joint Secretary, MoCA, and other officials from MoCA.
