The Government of India's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) has been pivotal to Star Air's journey and growth. Since our inception, we've been dedicated to Connecting Real India, and UDAN has enabled us to do exactly that-connecting the underserved and unserved regions of the country, ensuring affordable air travel for everyone.

When we launched our first two route in January 2019, between Hubli to Bengaluru and Hubli To Tirupati , it was a significant milestone for us. It symbolized the beginning of our mission to enhance regional connectivity, starting with this crucial route. Today, I am proud to say that since that first flight, we've flown over 1.3 million passengers by fulfilling dreams of many who had tasted flight for the first time!

Today powered by the UDAN scheme we operate to 22 airports Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Through this initiative, Star Air was awarded 44 routes under UDAN 2 and 3-8 routes under UDAN-2 and 36 routes under UDAN-3. Further, we have been awarded 44 more routes under UDAN 5, giving us the opportunity to bring air connectivity to even more regions.

The UDAN scheme has been instrumental in providing the necessary support for us to operate routes that otherwise may not have been viable. Through the infrastructural development that came along UDAN, allowed us to expand steadily into tier 2 and tier 3 cities, bringing us closer to our goal of Connecting Real India.

We have seen the joy in the eyes of many as they took to sky for the first time. We are see many business come up to support this new air connectivity. Clearly proving the economic multiplier Air Connectivity is.

Our fleet has grown alongside our aspirations. What started with one Embraer E145 aircraft in 2019 has now expanded to five E145s and four Embraer E175s. This growth has enabled us to launch new routes, access more destinations, and serve an even larger number of passengers.

Thanks to the RCS-UDAN initiative, Star Air is well on its way to realizing its vision of providing swift, affordable, and comfortable air travel to every corner of India. The backbone of our success has been this visionary scheme UDAN, which continues to empower regional carriers like us to play an essential role in India's aviation landscape.

We look forward to many more milestones as we continue to build on these solid foundation.

(Author of the article is Chief Executive Officer, Star Air)