Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday announced a 100-day plan for the country’s civil aviation sector, including policy measures and development of airports as well as heliports.

Aviation ministry’s 100-day (till November 30, 2021) plan includes the start of construction at 4 airports – Kushinagar, second terminal building at Dehradun, Agartala airport and Jewar in Greater Noida, in the next 100 days, the minister said at a press conference today.

Construction of airports at Kushinagar, Dehradun, Agartala and Jewar to begin in the next 100 days, the ministry informed.

Out of the 30 new routes under UDAN which will be launched by the first week of October, Alliance Air will launch 6 new routes, IndiGo and SpiceJet will launch 4 new routes each. In addition, 4 Big Charter and Star Air will launch 8 new routes each.

“Have set eights targets under policy, include Drone policy, UDAN airports, leasing capacity in India, discussion with states (VAT on ATF), IGRUA expansion, stabilised industry post-COVID to be implemented in the next 100 days,” he said.

A new policy for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities has also been announced.

The Minister has asked for VAT on ATF to be rationalised within the range of 1 per cent to 4 per cent.

The price of ATF is a major component of the operating cost of airlines with that, the tax on ATF contributes significantly to the ATF price. Addressing this issue would enable a force multiplier effect with regard to air connectivity in states.

The civil aviation sector has been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and is slowly coming on the recovery path.