<span style="color: #222222;">The government today said that after four rounds of bidding under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam  Nagarik) scheme, 459 routes have commenced, operationalizing 72 airports including two water aerodromes and nine heliports till 20th of last month.<br />''<br />''In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation  Gen. V K Singh said more than 2.16 lakh UDAN flights have been operated and over 1.13 crore passengers have so far availed the benefits of the scheme. He said the scheme has been able to provide air connectivity to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country at affordable airfares and has transformed the way people travel.</span><br />