In a heartwarming gesture, Kishangarh community of the same city in Ajmer, Rajasthan, has been reimbursing air passengers Rs 1,000 each ever since the city got its airport connected with Delhi. To those who take subsidised UDAN flights to Kishangarh, the community welcomes them by collecting Rs 1,000 from within itself to increase tourism, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation said at an event.
Kishangarh airport began operations on 8 October 2018, under Ministry of Civil Aviation and Modi government’s flagship scheme UDAN — ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik’, which aims to boost regional connectivity at cheap airfares. The route is operated by budget carrier SpiceJet after the airline got rights to the route in phase 2 of UDAN bidding.
Meanwhile, Delhi-Kishangarh-Delhi air route had gained immense popularity with almost 85% of occupancy in these flights within a span of 12 days since its launch, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) tweeted in October 2018.
Delhi-Kishangarh-Delhi air route has gained immense popularity with almost 85% of occupancy in these flights within a span of 12 days. #UDAN is making air travel affordable and giving wings to the dreams of masses. #SabUdenSabJuden pic.twitter.com/TAgAOdMpyP
— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) October 22, 2018
The communitarian effort by Kishangarh is a testimony to the success of the collective effort. Maihul Bhati, a Twitter user said, “Congrats Ajmer..!! Kishangarh Airport will now serve more flights.
It has been awarded with maximum number of new routes in Rajasthan and in India too.
#Ajmer #Kishangarh #UDAN #3.0. Thank You @ushapadhee1996 @sureshpprabhu @jayantsinha @PMOIndia #Rajasthan”
Congrats Ajmer..!!
Kishangarh Airport will now serve more flights.
It has been awarded with maximum number of new routes in Rajasthan and in India too.#Ajmer #Kishangarh #UDAN #3.0
Thank You @ushapadhee1996 @sureshpprabhu @jayantsinha @PMOIndia #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/ZCfGnAPmwM— Maihul Bhati (@imehulbhati) January 25, 2019
The idea behind the reimbursement could be attracting tourists as not all the airports and routes launched under UDAN have been successful. Though UDAN was conceived as a game changer, it hasn’t served well airlines such as Air Odisha which is not operating flights anymore.
Meanwhile, UDAN has been a success for certain airlines such as SpiceJet. Speaking at the same event, SpiceJet CEO Ajay Singh said, “Religious destinations like Kishangarh are incredible”. He also said that UDAN has been the most successful scheme of Modi government. The company has recently added another route — Jharsuguda in Orissa under the same scheme.
