Parliament session: Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday mentioned that nine more airports can be constructed in Uttar Pradesh over the next two years.
During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Scindia responded to supplementaries by stating that the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving an enormous significance to the civil aviation sector.
75 airports developed in 9 years of Modi govt
The Union Minister mentioned that in the preliminary 65 years of independence, solely 74 airports had been constructed. However, in the final nine years below the Modi authorities, 75 airports, together with airports, heliports, and waterdromes, have been developed, bringing the entire to 149.
Scindia highlighted that in the primary 65 years, solely three greenfield airports had been constructed. In distinction, the present authorities has developed 12 greenfield airports since 2014.
Nine more airports to be constructed in UP
He mentioned that solely six airports had been developed in Uttar Pradesh over the primary 65 years. However, in the final nine years, three further airports have been constructed in the state. “We will construct nine more airports in the next two years in Uttar Pradesh,” mentioned Scindia, including that the entire quantity would attain 18.
In response to a query concerning the Meerut airport, the minister said that operations with ATR plane, utilizing VFR (Visual Flight Rating), can begin as soon as the state authorities gives an extra 115 acres of land. “Meerut is an unlicensed airport and was identified during the third round of bidding under the UDAN scheme for the development and to operate RCS flights,” Scindia mentioned in a written reply.
Under UDAN 4.2 spherical of bidding, the Meerut-Lucknow-Meerut route has been awarded to FlyBig for the operation of RCS flights with 19-seater kind of plane and frequency of 133 seats per week and never for ATR 72. “Only after the airport is ready and licensed, the Selected Airlines Operator can start operating RCS flights from the Meerut airport,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
