New Delhi: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on Thursday declared that the government’s objective on cheaper air travel to interior areas was to ensure that those wearing “hawai chappals” (rubber slippers)— a reference to the common man — should be able to travel by “hawai jahaz” (aircraft).
But this comes at a cost. The aviation ministry said the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) would be funded by an initial Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs 205 crore wherein every passenger travelling on metro and other non-RCS routes would have to pay about Rs 50 extra in case the airlines pass on the burden to the passenger since the airlines would have to pay a levy per domestic flight departure on metro and non-RCS routes for the VGF. Sources said the ministry was close to convincing the airlines to pay a certain amount per flight departure and that a consensus is likely.
Meanwhile, the Centre announced that five airlines will operate on 128 routes under RCS wherein fares are capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights. Over 45 unserved and under-served airports would be connected under the scheme.
Announcing the names of winning bidders and the routes, Civil aviation secretary R.N. Choubey on Thursday said 128 routes are being awarded to a total of five operators.The operators are Air India subsidiary Airline Allied Services, SpiceJet, Air Deccan, Air Odisha and Turbo Megha. They would be operating 19-78 seater aircraft.
The first flight under RCS is expected in April, Mr. Choubey said. The five airlines won bids to operate on the 128 routes connecting 70 airports of which 31 are unserved. According to reports, Air Odisha got maximum number of 50 routes.
