India plans to connect 120 new regional destinations |

India plans to connect 120 new destinations under its Regional Air Connectivity scheme (RCS) in the next 10 years, the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman, announced while presenting the federal Budget 2025-2026. “Inspired by the success of UDAN (the name given to the regional air connectivity scheme) a modified scheme will be launched to enhance 120 new destinations and carry 40 million additional passengers in the next 10 years,” the Minister said while presenting the Budget speech. Indian airlines carry over 400,000 passengers a month, mainly connecting the bigger cities in the country, and this additional 40 million proposed passengers will further add to the number of flyers that the world’s third largest market flies currently. The modified RCS will be expanded to include helipads and smaller airports in hilly areas and the northeastern regional districts in the country. RCS was launched in October 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and aims to make air travel more affordable for the common man. Incidentally, the Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament a day before the federal Budget was presented on Saturday, stated that the scheme has already operationalized 619 routes connecting 88 airports and 13 heliports. The Survey also said that airport operators and developers, including the state-owned Airports Authority of India, had achieved 91 percent of their Rs 910 billion capital expenditure for the fiscal year 2020-2025 as of November last year. The Minister also announced a greenfield airport in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. This project will be in addition to the ongoing expansion of Patna Airport and another brownfield airport in the state. The announcement of a greenfield airport in the eastern state of Bihar also has political undertones. Bihar is ruled by an ally of the BJP, helping prop up the government at the center. India has 31 states, and the BJP is ruling most of them, but not all. Bihar goes to polls later this year, and it is hoped that the announcement in the federal Budget will woo the state's voters. Commenting on the Budget announcements, Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo, felt that Budget 2025 had outlined various significant initiatives to further develop a future-ready travel ecosystem, emphasizing people infrastructure and aviation as a key enabler. “Investment in developing world-class airports, enhancing regional connectivity, capacity upgrades, procedures, regulatory framework and streamlined visa facilities, will all play critical role in bringing this vision of developing India into a global aviation hub to life,” he said adding that “by strengthening both domestic and international connectivity, we were fuelling economic progress, bridging communities, and reinforcing aviation’s role as a catalyst for national growth and collectively building India as a leading global economic powerhouse. Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO of Akasa Air, felt that the Union Budget 2025 marked a significant step in supporting the sustained growth of India’s aviation sector. We commend the government’s commitment to infrastructure, which will make air travel more accessible, thereby boosting tourism and the economy on the whole.” Dube believed that this focus on aviation strengthens India’s position as a global hub, ensuring greater mobility for all and contributing to a more connected, inclusive nation. Manoj Chacko, MD and CEO of FLY91 said the Union Finance Minister’s budget to expand to 120 new destinations significantly boosts India’s aviation sector. "Regional aviation has the potential to be a key driver of growth, connecting underserved cities and unlocking their economic potential. As a pure-play regional airline focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 destinations, we at FLY91 see this as a transformative step that will accelerate air travel accessibility and drive growth across India,” Chacko said. We have been waiting for this move in India for some time. The Indian market has a large geographical area and potential traffic base, which makes it possible to build a regional airline industry as it exists in North America.

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