RANCHI: With Union finance minister Arun Jaitley proposing connection of 56 userved airports across the country in his Budget speech on Thursday, Jamshedpur and Bokaro, which have unserved airports, are likely to get benefits and start scheduled air operations soon.Speaking to TOI, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha shed light on the impact of the Union Budget on air travel in Jharkhand "The Budget for 2018-19 will transform the aviation landscape of Jharkhand. While the air services between Jamshedpur and Kolkata are scheduled to be started by Air Deccan from February 15, the new Budget has allocations for the Bokaro-Dhanbad to Kolkata route. The Dumka airport is expected to be connected both to Ranchi and Kolkata by air routes by the end of 2018 under the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme," Sinha said.In a recent announcement by the Union ministry of civil aviation on January 24, budget carrier Spicejet has been awarded 17 proposals and 20 new sectors under the second round of bidding for the Centre's UDAN regional connectivity scheme, which includes the Bokaro-Kolkata route.Talking about the expansion of airways route in the country, Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech said, "In the last three years, the domestic air passenger traffic grew at 18% per annum and our airline companies placed orders for more than 900 aircraft. Regional connectivity scheme of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) initiated by the government last year shall connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads across the country. Operations have already started at 16 such airports."Air strips in Dhalbhumgarh and Deoghar are also under construction in the state, paving way for extensive air connectivity in Jharkhand.

Stay updated with all the Latest Ranchi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.