Scindia inaugurates Sindhudurg airport Flagged off 381 routes and 61 airports Sindhudurg,

 D.9- Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia
 Inaugurated the Greenfield Sindhudurg Airport in Maharashtra and also flagged off the first flight from Sindhudurg to Mumbai under the RCS-UDAN scheme of the Government of India. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray attended the event as a guest from Sindhudurg airport.
 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane, Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale, Ajit Pawar, Balasaheb Thorat, Revenue Minister, Maharashtra, Aditya Thackeray, Subhash Desai, Uday Samant also participated.
 Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia in his address said, “The inauguration of Sindhudurg airport and flight to Mumbai marks a new chapter in the glorious history of the Konkan region. This development will open new avenues for the development of local trade and tourism. I am confident that with the immense potential of this sector, the number of daily flights will increase to 20-25 within the next 5 years."
The day is an important day for the people of Maharashtra as the inauguration pins the coastal Konkan region of Maharashtra on the national aerial map. These new flights will provide convenience and comfort to passengers, creating a gateway for people to easily access the Konkan region, which is famous for its pristine beaches, temples and forts. These new flights will not only facilitate the people of Sindhudurg in traveling to Mumbai, but will also open up the horizon of additional connectivity with other metro cities directly connected to Mumbai like Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad. Also, Sindhudurg airport is a good option for people traveling to North-Goa.
Sindhudurg Airport also known as Chipi Airport is in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. The airport is spread over an area of ??275 hectares. The length of the runway is 2500 meters. (8202 ft) and is capable of operating narrow-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus A-320 and Boeing B-737. The airport terminal building has the capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 incoming passengers during peak hours.
The inauguration marked the launch of the 61st airport under the UDAN scheme and the successful operation of 381 routes under UDAN. Now people can take a comfortable flight by opting for an 85-minute flight from Sindhudurg to Mumbai, whereas earlier they were forced to opt for a road or train journey of over 10 hours between these two cities.
This is the 75th flight route operated by the airline. Alliance Air will deploy its 70-seat ATR 72-600 aircraft on the route.
Under the scheme, selected airlines are being provided financial incentives in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) from the Central, State Governments and airport operators to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports.
So far 61 airports including 381 routes and 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.