Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in September met regional airline operators to discuss issues affecting their growth and ways to boost regional connectivity. “Held the maiden discussion with small aircraft and regional airline operators on issues impeding their growth and the way forward for enhanced regional air connectivity,” Mr Scindia said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the minister said that the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation is committed towards transforming the landscape of air travel for India’s common man. Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)- UDAN has been among the flagship schemes of the government. Last month, Scindia had sought intervention from the Chief Ministers to strengthen the aviation infrastructure in their states.

In a letter to the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh, he requested their personal intervention to strengthen aviation infrastructure. He urged them to instruct the officers concerned to initiate action for expediting various matters like land allocation, deposition of funds with RACFT, VGF support for international UDAN operations, amongst others. Mr Scindia also asked them to expedite airport development in their states. The Airports Authority of India has embarked upon development and expansion of airports in the country at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore in the next 4-5 years in order to meet the growing passenger demand in the country.