Working to achieve target of 100 airports : Jyotiraditya Scindia

NEW DELHI : Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia here on Monday said that under the Regional Connectivity scheme (RCS)-UDAN, 74 airports have been built in the country to date and "working to achieve the target of 100 such airports by 2024."

The UDAN scheme launched in 2016 aims to fulfil the aspirations of the common man with advanced aviation infrastructure and air connectivity in Category II and III cities, following the vision of Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN).

"The number of passengers in the last six years almost doubled. We are the third-largest domestic Civil Aviation market in the world and by 2030 we will become the third-largest economy in the world," Scindia said.

"We have planned to increase last-mile connectivity, therefore within UDAN, we have introduced the small aircraft scheme to make sure that we increase last-mile connectivity. We already have close to about 140 ASAs. There is no such plan to increase it," Scindia said.

"India today has become an aspirational country. PM Modi has given great emphasis on the development of the infrastructure sector through which in the last 9 years, we have doubled the number of airports in the country," he added.

"We believe that the civil aviation industry has the potential to become a Rs 3 lakh crore industry by 2030. Journey has already begun, and this sector will touch new heights in the days to come," Scindia added.