The objective is to facilitate regional air connectivity by making it affordable.
It offers concessions to the airlines to encourage them to fly on regional routes like levies or charges imposed by the airport operators, excise duty at 2% and VAT at 1% on aviation turbine fuel etc
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the implementing agency.
The airfare per RCS seat should not exceed Rs 3,500 and will be determined based on the flight distance.
The selected airlines will have to commit 50% of the seats on RCS flights as RCS seats with 3-7 operational flights per week.
A Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) will be created to subsidise operations under the RCS.
The central government will fund 80% of the losses incurred and the rest will be covered by the states.
This is provided through the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to the selected airline operators from RCF, and state governments will be required to reimburse the applicable share. VGF will be provided for three years from the date of commencement of operations of such RCS flights.
Benefits under the Scheme will be available for a period of 10 years from the date of its notification.
RCS will be made operational only in states and at airports which are willing to provide concessions required under the Scheme.
Maharashtra is the first state to sign agreement with centre for RCS.