India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN has completed ten years with 687 regional routes and 95 aerodromes operationalised and air travel extended to 1.72 crore passengers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the scheme on 21 October 2016 to take affordable flying beyond major cities. The government has now approved the Modified UDAN phase with an outlay of ₹28,840 crore for FY27 to FY36 to develop 100 airports and 200 modern helipads.
What Is the UDAN Scheme?
The UDAN scheme is India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) to take affordable air travel to small cities and remote areas. UDAN stands for Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik, which means let the common citizen fly. The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the scheme on 21 October 2016 as a key part of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is the nodal ministry for civil aviation policy in India. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) acts as the implementing agency for UDAN. AAI was formed on 1 April 1995 by merging the National Airports Authority and the International Airports Authority of India under the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994. AAI is headquartered at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi, and it manages airports and air navigation services across the country.
UDAN was designed as a market based scheme with government support. Airlines bid for routes to unserved airports, which had no flights, and underserved airports, which had very few flights. The first UDAN flight took off on the Shimla to Delhi sector on 27 April 2017. The spellings UDAN and Udaan and the Hindi term Udan Yojana refer to the same scheme.
How Does UDAN Make Flying Affordable?
The UDAN model keeps ticket prices low while helping airlines cover costs on thin routes. The fare on UDAN seats is capped at ₹2,500 for a journey of about 500 km or one hour by fixed wing aircraft, with proportionate fares for longer routes and for helicopter flights of about 30 minutes. The selected airline must reserve between 9 and 40 seats per flight as UDAN seats on fixed wing aircraft, and between 5 and 13 seats on helicopters, at these capped fares. Other seats on the same flight can be sold at market prices.
Airlines receive Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to bridge the gap between operating cost and passenger revenue. VGF is a grant that makes a socially useful but commercially weak route viable for the operator. Airlines compete through reverse bidding, and the airline that asks for the lowest VGF per seat wins the route with three years of exclusivity and three years of VGF support. A Regional Air Connectivity Fund (RCF), created through a small levy on departures of most domestic flights, funds this support along with budgetary aid. Partner states contribute 20 percent of VGF, while northeastern states and Union Territories contribute 10 percent.
Costs are cut further through concessions. The central government levies only 2 percent excise duty on aviation turbine fuel uplifted at UDAN airports. States reduce value added tax on fuel to 1 percent or less at these airports and provide security, fire services, land, water and power on concessional terms. Airport operators waive landing and parking charges and terminal navigation landing charges, and they apply a steep discount on route navigation charges. This mix of capped fares, shared funding and lower operating costs allows small town flights to survive until demand grows.
Ten Years of UDAN: 687 Routes and 95 Aerodromes
The ten year mark in October 2026 gave the clearest picture of scale achieved by the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The Ministry of Civil Aviation reported 687 regional routes operationalised and 95 aerodromes made functional, including 17 heliports and 2 water aerodromes. More than 3.68 lakh UDAN flights have operated and carried around 1.72 crore passengers. VGF disbursement crossed ₹5,091.23 crore as on 15 October 2026.
| UDAN milestone as of October 2026 | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Regional routes operationalised | 687 |
| Aerodromes operationalised | 95, including 17 heliports and 2 water aerodromes |
| Flights operated | More than 3.68 lakh |
| Passengers carried | About 1.72 crore |
| Viability Gap Funding released | ₹5,091.23 crore |
The network has changed travel in regions where road and rail journeys are long and difficult. In Bihar, the operationalisation of Purnea airport in 2025 cut the burden of travelling more than 200 km to Bagdogra, with flight times of nearly two hours to Kolkata and about one hour to Patna. In Arunachal Pradesh, Tezu airport, operationalised in 2021, reduced travel to Guwahati to about one hour and helped local farm produce move faster. Deoghar airport in Jharkhand improved access for pilgrims visiting Baba Baidyanath Dham and cut Delhi travel time to about two hours, while Kishangarh in Rajasthan improved links to Ajmer and Pushkar. About 90 priority routes in the Northeast have been operationalised, which matters greatly in hilly terrain.
The wider aviation base also expanded during this period. Operational airports in India rose from 74 in 2014 to 166 in 2026, and India became the world’s third largest domestic aviation market. The government linked 21 Memoranda of Understanding with states and Union Territories in September 2026 to deepen Centre state cooperation for the next phase, after the Modified UDAN launch at Jodhpur on 4 July 2026 and a stakeholder workshop on 16 July 2026.
What Is the Modified UDAN Scheme?
The Modified UDAN Scheme is the next ten year phase of regional air connectivity approved by the Union Cabinet on 25 March 2026. The scheme will run from FY27 to FY36 with a total outlay of ₹28,840 crore through budgetary support. It targets 120 new destinations and aims to carry 4 crore passengers over the decade, in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of wider infrastructure growth.
The design shifts focus from only adding flights to keeping airports and airlines financially workable. A Challenge Mode Portal allows states and Union Territories to nominate unserved airstrips and helipads for development. Proposals are judged on free land availability, technical feasibility, traffic potential, statutory clearances and state support. VGF under Modified UDAN can run up to five years with tapered support from the third year, while route exclusivity is limited to three years to encourage competition after stabilisation.
| Component of Modified UDAN | Provision |
|---|---|
| Development of airports | 100 airports from existing unserved airstrips at ₹12,159 crore over eight years |
| Operation and maintenance support | ₹2,577 crore for about 441 aerodromes for three years, capped at ₹3.06 crore per airport per year and ₹0.90 crore per heliport or water aerodrome per year |
| Modern helipads | 200 helipads at about ₹15 crore each, totalling ₹3,661 crore, focused on hilly, remote, island and aspirational districts |
| Viability Gap Funding to airlines | ₹10,043 crore over ten years to sustain regional routes |
| Indigenous aircraft support | ₹400 crore for 2 HAL Dhruv helicopters and 2 HAL Dornier aircraft for Pawan Hans and Alliance Air |
The indigenous aircraft component supports Atmanirbhar Bharat by addressing the shortage of small aircraft and helicopters for remote operations. The HAL Dhruv is an advanced light helicopter built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), while the HAL Dornier 228 is a light transport aircraft suited for short runways and difficult terrain. Together, the five components seek to build airports, keep them running, connect remote districts by helicopter, sustain airlines longer, and promote Made in India civil aircraft.
How to Book UDAN Flights and What Is Krishi UDAN?
UDAN flight booking follows the normal airline ticketing process. The Ministry of Civil Aviation does not run a separate UDAN booking portal. Passengers book UDAN flights directly on airline websites or authorised travel portals, where UDAN routes appear like any other domestic flight. The subsidised seats are part of the same flight inventory, so early booking often secures the capped fare while later seats may be priced at market rates within the same aircraft.
Travellers should check the operating airline, weekly frequency and baggage rules, since regional routes often use small aircraft and may operate only three to seven days a week. The UDAN ticket price advantage comes from the fare cap rather than a special coupon or card. For helicopter and seaplane services under UDAN, seat numbers are smaller and schedules depend on weather and daylight conditions in hilly and island areas.
A cargo cousin of the scheme is Krishi UDAN. The government launched Krishi UDAN in August 2020 to move farm produce by air, and released Krishi UDAN 2.0 on 27 October 2021. The scheme focuses on the Northeast, hilly and tribal regions and covers more than 50 airports. It gives full waiver of landing, parking and navigation charges for freighters at selected AAI airports, supports hub and spoke cargo infrastructure at centres such as Guwahati and Bagdogra, and promotes convergence of aviation with agriculture through the proposed E-KUSHAL platform for farm logistics information.
Performance reviews have also flagged gaps that Modified UDAN seeks to fix. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) found in its UDAN audit that many awarded routes did not start or stopped early, with only a share of awarded routes staying operational. Operators point to shortage of small aircraft, weak last mile road links between remote airports and nearby towns, and the need for steady state support on power, security and services. The new phase responds with longer VGF, dedicated maintenance support and a stronger role for states in proposing and sustaining aerodromes.
Key Takeaways
- UDAN stands for Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik and is the Regional Connectivity Scheme launched on 21 October 2016 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
- The Airports Authority of India, formed on 1 April 1995 and headquartered in New Delhi, is the implementing agency for UDAN.
- UDAN caps fares at ₹2,500 for about 500 km and supports airlines through Viability Gap Funding secured by reverse bidding.
- In ten years UDAN operationalised 687 routes and 95 aerodromes, operated over 3.68 lakh flights and carried 1.72 crore passengers.
- The Modified UDAN Scheme from FY27 to FY36 has an outlay of ₹28,840 crore for 100 airports, 200 helipads and extended airline support.
