Turbulence hits UDAN scheme in Karnataka

In 2017, the Centre rolled out the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), an ambitious initiative to boost flight connectivity on routes seen to be commercially unviable by making air travel more affordable.

UDAN achieved this through subsidised flights.

The Airports Authority of India and the Union and state governments came together to ensure cheaper airfares on these routes for a period of three years.

In Karnataka, Mysuru, Vijaynagar and Bidar were onboarded in phase 1 of the scheme’s launch. Hubballi joined in phase 2 and Belagavi and Kalaburagi in phase 3.

A reality check five years later shows how a perfect storm of unviable routes, skyrocketing jet fuel prices, private airlines’ dwindling profit margins and Covid-19 plunged the airports into grief, affecting the scheme in some while leading to curtailment of flights in others where UDAN has ended. Data from the airports shows passenger footfall increased in the initial days. But once the scheme came to an end, numbers plummeted in five of them, the exception being Mysuru.

Take for example Hubballi airport, which saw nearly 6,944 flights with 4.95 lakh passengers in 2020. But as soon as the scheme ended, a majority of private airlines withdrew their service. In 2022, only 4,806 flights operated from Hubballi.

In Kalaburagi and Bidar, the scheme is still on but the numbers have dropped as they are unviable routes and have few takers for subsidised flights.

The scheme didn’t work in Vijaynagar in the first attempt, so it is being restarted now.

In Belagavi, before the scheme’s implementation, the airport saw 1,176 flights with a passenger load of 74,041 per year. “However, after the scheme was introduced, the airport saw 6,440 flights taking off or landing with 2.80 lakh passengers in 2021-22,” said the Belagavi Airport Director Rajesh Kumar Maurya.

Experts think the airport will soon witness a slump as the scheme is scheduled to end in 2023. And the signs are already there: at least three airlines have stopped operating from Belagavi on certain routes.

“No private airline is in a position to operate flights to loss-making routes without subsidy. Covid-19 has broken the backs of airline companies and without governments’ support, we cannot operate all the routes,” said Manoj Prabhu, North Karnataka Manager of Indigo Airlines.

Official from another airline, on the condition of anonymity, said the government should have connected Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with popular destinations and not limited the benefits to selected airports.

For example, starting flight services between Mysuru-Tirupati and Shiradi-Hubballi instead of Mysuru-Bengaluru or Hubballi-Goa). However, the government said the scheme can’t go on forever and that the main intention was to handhold airports for a limited period of time. “Now that it has shown the potential of these airports, it’s the responsibility of airlines, airport officials and the public to make it sprint. The government cannot continue to support the airports forever,” Maurya said.