UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme Completes Ten Years with 687 Routes and 1.72 Crore Passengers

21 October 2026National

The Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) regional connectivity scheme completed ten years on 21 October 2026, having been launched on 21 October 2016 under the National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 and run by the Airports Authority of India for the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It has operationalised 687 regional routes and 95 aerodromes, including 17 heliports and 2 water aerodromes, carrying 1.72 crore passengers. The modified UDAN phase launched in July 2026 runs from FY27 to FY36 with an outlay of ₹28,840 crore, targeting 100 new airports and 200 helipads, and feeds the PM GatiShakti multimodal push that marked five years in October 2026.

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UDAN expands to Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik and caps fares on about half the seats on subsidised regional routes | The scheme is funded through a Regional Air Connectivity Fund built from a levy on major scheduled flight routes | The Airports Authority of India was constituted in 1995 under the AAI Act 1994 and is headquartered in New Delhi

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