Agra’s tourism sector to fly high on UDAN initiative
The tourism industry connected with Agra is expecting a major boost in the business as it is going to get air connectivity to Bengaluru, Bhopal, Lucknow, and Varanasi from May 2019,under the government’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme.
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) is a regional airport development and ‘Regional Connectivity Scheme’ (RCS) of Government of India, with the objective of ‘letting the common citizen of the country fly’, aimed at making air travel affordable and widespread, to boost inclusive national economic development end employment generation.
As per airport officials low-cost airline Indigo is keen taking advantage of the scheme in order to connect the Taj city with major destinations in India.
Agra is currently connected by air with Jaipur and Khajuraho.
Work on a new Rs 400 crore terminal building at the Kheria airport, now renamed as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya airport, is expected to begin soon.
There have been several initiatives to increase Agra’s air connectivity with international destinations, but according to local tourism industry players, interest-groups and the Delhi lobby of travel agents and hoteliers somehow always managed to hamper the schemes.
It is alleged by some regional sources that Agra’s international airport project was also hijacked by politicians to Jewar in Bulandshahr district.