Bhagalpur and Madhubani will soon boast of air connectivity, thanks to the Centre's Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme.

Under the scheme, launched in October 2016, the Centre aims to provide cheap air travel at Rs 2,500 per hour to smaller cities. Forty-four cities across the country have been selected under the scheme through National Civil Aviation Policy 2016.

"The list was prepared based upon geographical, operational and commercial parameters, which have potential to be part of regional connectivity scheme, UDAN," said an Airports Authority of India official posted in Patna. He added that the scheme aimed at connecting un-served and under-served airports, capping the fares at Rs 2,500 for half the seats in flights for a distance of 476-500km. "This translates to around an hour's journey," he added.

The Centre mandates a participating carrier to bid for at least nine seats and a maximum of 40 seats. In the case of a helicopter, the operator has to bid for a minimum of 5 seats and a maximum of 13 seats. The fare would vary from Rs 1,420 to Rs 3,500 for aircraft, while for helicopters, half-an-hour's ride under the scheme would cost Rs 2,500 and for over the one-hour duration, the cap would be Rs 5,000. The Centre and the State shall provide the regional connectivity scheme subsidy in the 80:20 ratio.

Bhagalpur resident Saurav Prasad was jubilant. "Our demand for introduction of air services was long-standing. Though in 2013, a private operator, Skyfisher Airways Limited, had agreed to introduce flights from Bhagalpur, it did not materialise. Air services will prove to be extremely important for development of the entire region."

The Bhagalpur airfield was laid in 1973 following which a private operator (Kalinga) provided commercial air services to people with a couple of small (40-seat) aircraft connecting Calcutta, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Raxaul in the 1970s. But owing to commercial non-viability, the services were withdrawn after two years. Since then, people had been demanding reintroduction of air services. The AAI teams had earlier visited Bhagalpur during which it had acknowledged that commercial air services through small aircraft from Bhagalpur airport was feasible. However, the AAI suggested increasing the length of runway (airstrip) from the current 3,300ft to 4,000 feet to enable flight operations.

Similarly, Madhubani airport has a runway of 3,200ft, which too will be upgraded to 4,000ft, before operations begin.

According to Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI): "The KPMG report (January 2017) on the regional connectivity scheme or UDAN has envisaged a few potential destinations both from Bhagalpur and Madhubani.