Admn. to implement RCS-Udan in isles; bidding in progress

Port Blair, Dec 12: In a major initiative to provide affordable air- connectivity in the Inter-Island Sector, the A&N Administration has decided to provide additional incentives to the airline operators, under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN to encourage them to introduce flights on the Inter-Island Sector. The additional incentives include 30% extra Viability Gap Funding for the flights under RCS Scheme. Further, the Administration has also agreed to take responsibility for all the seats in fixed wing aircraft (including Sea Plane) upto 20 seats, while the original scheme provide only for 50% seats.

Presently the bidding process for the selection of airline operator under the RCS- UDAN scheme is going on and it is expected that the additional incentives offered by the A&N Administration will attract the Airlines to provide air-connectivity between various Islands very soon. After finalisation of the bidding process, the proposed fare under the RCS-UDAN Scheme will be less than the existing fare of the helicopter services and will be equal for both Islanders and non-Islanders.  The comparison of the fares is as under:-