Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced the launch of the UDAN 5.2 programme, aimed at improving air connectivity to remote regions of India through small aircraft.
“We today started the UDAN 5.2 programme for small aircraft. We have awarded 22 routes, which underlines the fact that air travel facilities are being made available to citizens living in remote areas under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Scindia said at the event on Tuesday.
The aviation minister also launched a mobile application called ‘HeliSewa’ to streamline approvals for helicopter operators from government authorities through a single-window service platform.
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HeliSewa is an initiative of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under Digital India to create an ecosystem between helicopter operators and district authorities.
Other key announcements at the event were the inauguration of three Flight Training Organizations (FTOs) in Khajuraho as well as the forthcoming launch of a wide-body aircraft flight between Khajuraho and Varanasi.
These key announcements were made during the 5th Helicopter & Small Aircraft Summit (Heli Summit 2023) in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh.
Commitment to aviation sector
Jyotiraditya Scindia further highlighted the impressive growth of the aviation fleet from 400 aircraft in 2013 to 700 currently, with plans to expand it further to 1,500 within five years.
He said in the last nine years of the Modi government, the aviation sector has seen exponential growth and it has also been democratised as 148 airports, including nine heliports and two water aerodromes, have been developed during this period. This number will go up to 200 in the next four years, he maintained.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued record 1,135 commercial pilot licenses, with 731 of them being issued in the first five months of 2023, he mentioned.
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