On June 8, the Union Aviation minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, announced that in the next 2-3 years, India will have 200-220 airports as well as heliports and water aerodromes.
While speaking to the media in Delhi during a press conference as a part of ‘Mega Jan-Sampark Abhiyan’, the Union minister announced this decision while highlighting the progress made in the aviation industry during the past nine years of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Union Minister spoke about the increased connectivity in the country in the last nine years. He states, “Whatever the governments have done in the past 68 years, the Modi government has done it in the 9 years. The number has reached from 74 to 148. We aim to make in 200-220 in the next five years, including heliports and water aerodromes”.
Scindia highlighted the goal of attaining a total of 220 airports by 2024–25, including the recently declared international airports in Tirupati, Vijayawada, Kushinagar, and Mopa Airports have brought the total number of international airports in India to 30.
He also talked about the increased connectivity in the Northeast region, “There were some states in the region where there were no airports, but today, Arunachal Pradesh has three new airports, Sikkim also has an airport now”. The airports in the Northeast have been doubled from nine airports in 2014 to 17. The new airports are established in Hollongi, Ziro, Pasighat, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Pakyong, etc., for better regional connectivity in the region.
The Union minister further emphasised the ongoing efforts to increase capacity in metro airports, “Expansion projects are underway or completed at airports such as DIAL, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Additionally, the construction of Greenfield Airports in Jewar and Navi Mumbai will boost capacity expansion in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively”. In the next decade, plans will be implemented to increase the capacity from 221 million passengers per annum (MPPA) to over 456 MPPA.
Scindia also emphasised the significant advancements in Greenfield Airport development, 11 of which have become operational in the last nine years, “In-principle approval has been granted for an additional 11 Greenfield airports, including Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat”.
In relation to the investment, Scindia mentioned the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), which estimates a CAPEX of more than Rs 98,000 crore from FY2019–20 to FY2024–25. He states, “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expected to contribute approximately Rs 25,000 crore, while the remaining expenditure will be borne by airport developers under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. As of March 2023, Rs 53,655 crore has already been spent. The AAI has made a capital expenditure of over Rs 20,000 crore in the past nine years to bolster the civil aviation sector”.
Union Minister further said, “Looking ahead, India is on track to witness an impressive expansion of its airport infrastructure over the next five years, with projections indicating the establishment of over 200 airports. Additionally, a leasing process for 29 aircraft is currently underway at GIFT City, a meticulously planned financial and technology hub located in Gujarat”.
Scindia also emphasised the advancements made in carrying out the Digi Yatra programme at airports under AAI management. Digi Yatra, a digital travel experience designed to streamline passenger processes, has been effectively incorporated into more than half of the AAI airports.
However, the Union minister accepted that private airports have a lower adoption rate of Digi Yatra, ranging from 10% to 20%. He added, “Efforts are being made to encourage wider implementation of this digital travel initiative in private airports to ensure a consistent and efficient travel experience for passengers”.
During the press conference, Scindia also mentioned about the increase in India’s aircraft fleet in the last nine years, with over 700 aircraft. He states it is “A remarkable leap of over 100 per cent within the past nine years”.
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