Rudrapur: To cater to unserved regions, Air India is set to begin its operations between Pantnagar and Dehradun on December 19 under ‘Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik’ - a regional connectivity scheme (UDAN-RCS). Air India’s inaugural RCS service will see it connect the state capital with Pantnagar and Delhi, four times a week.“This flight route was earlier assigned to a private airlines company which failed to start the operations and later given to the second highest bidder, Air India,” said SK Singh, director of Pantnagar airport.According to Singh, flight 9I 815 will depart from New Delhi at 12.10hrs (IST) and reach Dehradun at 13.10 hrs (IST) on December 19. Going onward, flight 9I 823 will depart from Dehradun at 13.40 hrs (IST), arriving at Pantnagar at 14.30 hrs (IST). On its return, flight 9I 824 will depart from Pantnagar at 15.05 hrs (IST) and land in the state capital Dehradun at 15.55 hrs (IST). From Dehradun, flight 9I 816 will depart at 16.30 hrs (IST) and land in Lucknow at 17.40 hrs (IST). The route will be catered to by an ATR aircraft with a seating capacity of 42 to 72 guests, depending on the number of passengers.“The UDAN scheme is an initiative which will facilitate the realisation of the benefits of the aviation sector. Director general of civil aviation (DGCA) has approved the route and the online bookings for this route will start from December 15. Under the UDAN scheme, 50% of the seats are reserved and will be sold at a cost of Rs 500 to Rs 2,500,” said Singh.The flights will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

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