22 air routes in India offer base fares below Rs 1000 per person

At least 22 air routes in India offer base airfares below Rs 1,000 per person, an analysis conducted by travel portal ixigo with news agency PTI has revealed. Notably, the Lilabari to Tezpur route boasts the lowest base fare of Rs 150 in Assam.

Operated by Alliance Air, these flights ensure convenient travel between Lilabari and Tezpur. However, it's essential to factor in a convenience charge added to the base fare when booking your ticket.

Typically lasting around 50 minutes, flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) provide efficient transportation across various routes. A significant portion of these routes with base airfares ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 199 per passenger are concentrated in the Northeast region, making air travel more accessible than ever before.

Moreover, routes in the southern region of the country, such as Bangalore-Salem and Cochin-Salem, also offer base ticket prices within this range.

For flights to and from Guwahati and Shillong, the base ticket price is fixed at Rs 400. Similarly, the airfare for flights connecting Imphal and Aizawl, Dimapur and Shillong, and Shillong and Lilabari stands at Rs 500. However, for the Bangalore-Salem route, the base ticket price is slightly higher at Rs 525.

Further analysis reveals that the base airfare for the Guwahati-Pasighat flight is Rs 999, while the Lilabari-Guwahati route is priced at Rs 954.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) disclosed that as of March 31, 2024, a total of 559 routes are operational under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). Despite this, some of these routes experience low demand, and alternative transportation options that take more than five hours to reach destinations exist, according to an industry executive.

Under the RCS, the central government, state governments, and airport operators provide various incentives to promote regional air connectivity and make air travel more accessible to the general public. These incentives include exemptions from landing and parking charges for flights operating on RCS routes.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation introduced UDAN on October 21, 2016, with the primary objective of enhancing regional air connectivity and reducing air travel costs for ordinary citizens. The scheme aims to link smaller cities and towns across the country, thereby fostering economic growth and development in these regions.