IAF-owned Hindon base to act as back-up for Delhi Airport under UDAN scheme

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force will allow its Hindon base to be used for flights operating to tier-2 and tier-3 cities under the government’s regional connectivity scheme, civil aviation secretary RN Choubey said on Wednesday. “This is being done to overcome slot constraints at the Indira Gandhi International Airport,” Choubey said at an ASSOCHAM event in New Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_2370924” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image[/caption] The civilian operations from the IAF air base, in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of Delhi, are likely to start during the winter schedule, which comes into effect on the last Sunday of October. The government is in talks with airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited on reworking a rule which disallows two airports within a radius of 150km. The government’s regional connectivity scheme also known as UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) aims at making flying affordable for the masses by capping airfares on selected short routes – such as from Delhi to Shimla – at Rs 2500 per hour of flight. Airlines that are awarded routes under the scheme are offered government subsidy and in return need to set aside 50 percent of the seating capacity at discounted fares.