Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said here on Saturday that the Center would soon launch a new route connecting Vellore under its flagship UDAN scheme. He said at an event here that 473 new routes have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme launched by the Center to boost air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. “In terms of airports, Salem airport (in Tamil Nadu) has become operational. Vellore will be operational in the next few months. Fourteen flight routes will come to Tamil Nadu,” he said shortly after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A new integrated terminal building has been built here at Chennai airport at a cost of Rs 1,260 crore.
Scindia said that 1.20 crore people have been benefited under the UDAN scheme who would never have dreamed of traveling in an aeroplane. Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme was launched by the Central Government as a program to provide air connectivity to Tier-II and -III cities. Scindia said the new integrated building at the airport stands as a ‘testament’ to a new phase of civil aviation under Modi’s leadership.
“Civil aviation is changing and our country, from a mere 60 million passengers (before 2014), has more than doubled in the last nine years to 145 million per year across India,” he said. Scindia said the air passenger throughput also reached the pre-Covid level, with 4.55 lakh passengers traveling a day as against 4.20 lakh currently.
Stating that only 74 airports were operational in the country for 65 years after attaining independence, he said the government had constructed additional 74 new airports, heliports and waterdomes, taking the total to 148. “The Prime Minister is very clear in that direction. India has to move forward and we will build more than 200 airports, waterdome and heliports in the next four to five years.” Had given.
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“Hence, times are changing and with new growth, Chennai has emerged as one of the largest gateways in the country and India’s third largest airport with 43 domestic and 24 international connections,” he added. The international terminal building will handle a passenger throughput of around 30 million from the earlier 23 million. “In the second phase of development, the Chennai airport will increase from 30 million to 35 million passengers in the next two years,” he said.
He added that the new terminal has 60 per cent energy contribution from renewable sources and also has multi-modal connectivity with direct link to Chennai Metro. He said that every airport is a gateway to India and the country’s rich cultural heritage should be showcased with the new integrated terminal, which has 13 paintings of Tamil Nadu’s biggest temples on display.