As many as 11 airports in Jammu and Kashmir, and two in Ladakh have been put up for bidding under the fourth round of the regional air connectivity scheme, according to a release.
So far, 688 routes have been awarded to various air operators under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) that seeks to connect unserved as well as underserved destinations and also make flying more affordable.
The civil aviationministry announced the fourth round of UDAN bidding on Tuesday and the focus ison North East Region, hilly states, J&K and Ladakh.
Under UDAN 4.0, theministry has put on offer bids for 11 unserved airports in J&K and 2underserved airports in Ladakh region, as per the official release issued onThursday.
The 11 airports inJ&K are Akhnoor, Chamb, Chushal, Fukche, Gurex, Jhangar, Miran Sahib, Panzgam,Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur. The two aerodromes in Ladakh are at Kargil andThoise.
“The objectiveis to establish strong air connectivity and to boost the tourism sector,”the release said.
J&K and Ladakhare now union territories.
For UDAN 4.0, initialproposals can be submitted till January 1, 2020, and counter proposals tillJanuary 13.
The declaration ofselected airline operator and issue of letter of award (LoA) would be done onJanuary 31, 2020.
Among otherincentives, the ministry would be extending additional viability gap funding ofaround 25 per cent to the participating airlines under UDAN 4.0.