Announcement of new routes, services under RCS mark ‘Udan Mahotsav’ at Jharsuguda airport

Nov 22, 2021

Jharsuguda (Odisha), Nov 22, 2021, (ANI): The Ministry of Civil Aviation along with the Airports Authority of India commemorated the success of the Regional Connectivity Scheme- UDAN or Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik with ‘UDAN Mahotsav’ held at Veer Surendra Sai Airport in Odisha’s industrial town of Jharsuguda. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia presided over the host of events that marked a gigantic expansion of the Indian aviation sector since the launch of the flagship UDAN scheme in 2016 with a large number of tier-2 and tier-3 cities getting new or upgraded airports. The event comprised the flagging off of new routes under the regional connectivity scheme, the release of the UDAN manual and the release of the UDAN—India @ 75---logo. Scindia also felicitated the best airports and airlines under the UDAN scheme. The airport in the Industrial town of Jharsuguda is one of those airports that not just facilitate common people’s transit in smaller towns of the country but also act as major commercial connectivity points. It is only the second commercial airport in the state. Since its launch, the Jharsuguda airport has not only provided an impetus to the industrial growth of more than ten districts but has also proven to be an important junction for the expansion of the tourism industry. The airport has witnessed a steady rise in footfall since its inauguration and is rapidly catching up with its pre-Covid numbers after its operations were resumed post-second wave. The airport has particularly emerged as a boon to people from different parts of the country who work in the industrial corridor of the region. It has also cut short the journey of those natives who work in different cities of the country. The Jharsuguda airport, which was renamed after the Indian freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. The airport serves major steel industries including Jindal Steel, Bhusan Steel and Hindalco. Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the implementing agency of UDAN, a regional airport development and Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Government of India, which has successfully added millions of footfalls to in Indian aero-spectrum in the past five years.