The flights under the government subsidised Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN-II to places such as Pithoragarh, Jaisalmer, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Kannur will fly from Hindon Air Force Station in Delhi NCR from the mid-February 2019, according to a report published by Times of India. Currently, Airports Authority of India (AAI) is constructing a public terminal at Hindon Air Force Station to handle the operations. The construction will end by mid-February 2019.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI airport) does not have any free slots, and it was unable to accommodate the new RCS UDAN-II flights. Hindon will handle these flights till IGI airport’s fourth runway’s expansion work gets completed in another three to four years. IGI airport is also constructing a bigger Terminal-I to handle the increasing traffic alongside.
Hindon’s terminal can manage 300 passengers per hour
Hindon’s newly constructing terminal will be capable of handling around 300 passengers per hour. This air-conditioned terminal will also have other facilities such as check-in counters, security hold areas, baggage handling system and shopping outlets. The terminal, constructing at the cost of Rs. 45.2 crore, will be spread across 3500 square metres. IAF ATC will manage the air traffic control for the flights from Hindon airport.
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UDAN-II Flights Routes from Hindon
The routes of the flights under UDAN-II include Lucknow-Hindon-Kolkata-Jorhat; Hindon-Bhopal-Ozar (Nashik); Hindon-Jaisalmer-Udaipur; Hindon-Gorakhpur-Allahabad; Hindon-Allahabad-Kolkata; Hindon-Kannur; Ozar (Nashik)-Hindon; and Tirupati-Hubli-Hindon. IndiGo will be the primary carrier along with other small new players.
Introduced by the Government of India, UDAN-II a.k.a. Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik is a regional airport development and "Regional Connectivity Scheme" (RCS), that makes air travel more affordable to people. Under the scheme, the fares are capped at Rs.2500 per hour of flying for a selected number of seats on each flight.
Besides UDAN-II flights, AAI is also planning to shift small private jets with less than 80 seats to the new terminal from IGI airport. This will further free some slots for scheduled flights in Delhi IGI airport. IGI’s three runways are capable of handling 67-62 scheduled and five non-scheduled flights. But, the traffic at Delhi IGI airport tremendously increased, and a fourth runway was further constructed to handle the traffic in 2010.
“Operating new flights from Hindon is unlikely to have any bearing on the slots at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport,” the report quoted the Chairman of Airports Authority of India Guruprasad Mohapatra.
