Government to offer only 20 airports under RCS Round II bidding

According to reports, the central government is likely to offer only 20 airports in the second round of bidding for flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). The bidding is expected to take place by end-August 2017. Besides, there are likely to be two major changes applicable in the case of the north-eastern region and island states, such as the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, etc. These pertain to a waiver of the 150 km distance condition between two airports for availing RCS concessions and seating regulations for aircraft landing at advanced landing grounds (ALGs). The condition of plying at least 9-seater aircraft or helicopters is expected to be waived for these regions since there are many airstrips and ALGs, particularly in places like Arunachal Pradesh, that permit the landing of only four-seater aircraft.