Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday inaugurated the Dehradun–Pithoragarh–Dehradun flight service at Jolly Grant Airport.
On the occasion, he said that the launch of the 42-seater aircraft service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh will reduce travel time between the two cities to just one hour. He added that the service is also strategically important.
The Chief Minister noted that there was a time when air travel was considered accessible only to the privileged and affluent sections of society. “However, today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even an ordinary citizen wearing slippers can afford to travel by air,” he said. He highlighted that the UDAN scheme, launched in 2016, has brought a new revolution in the civil aviation sector by connecting smaller cities, remote and border areas to the air network and providing affordable air services to the common people.
He further stated that the central government has recently approved UDAN 2.0, under which a target has been set to develop 100 new airports and 200 new heliports over the next 10 years, with an estimated budget of around ₹29,000 crore. The expansion aims to strengthen regional air connectivity, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and ensure affordable and accessible air services in remote and hilly areas.
Dhami emphasised that for a mountainous state like Uttarakhand, air services are not just a means of transport but have become a lifeline. From delivering essential supplies to remote regions to transporting critically ill patients to major hospitals for timely treatment, air connectivity has proven highly effective.
He added that currently, 26 air routes are operational in the state under the UDAN scheme. To further enhance connectivity in remote areas, the “Uttarakhand Air Connectivity Scheme” was launched in 2023, under which regular flights are currently operating on six routes. Over the past four years, the number of heliports in the state has increased from 2 to 12, while helipads have grown from 60 to 118. Uttarakhand has also received national recognition as the “Best State for Promotion of Aviation Ecosystem.”
The Chief Minister said that with the launch of the Dehradun–Pithoragarh air service, people from Pithoragarh can now reach Dehradun within an hour, which will give a significant boost to the local economy. He added that border areas were neglected for years in the past, which limited their development, but now both the central and state governments are working together to bring these regions into the mainstream of development. As part of these efforts, helicopter services have also been started between Pithoragarh and Munsyari.
He further informed that the government is working on the development of Pithoragarh Airport with an investment of ₹450 crore. Additionally, on the occasion of State Foundation Day, in the presence of the Prime Minister, an MoU was signed between the Airports Authority of India and the Uttarakhand government for the acquisition of Naini Saini Airport, which will further benefit the region in the future.
On this occasion, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu extended his best wishes for the Dehradun–Pithoragarh flight service through a video message and assured continued support for enhancing aviation facilities in the state.
(ANI)
