REPORTS: India to add 80 airports over five years

India is likely to add nearly 80 airports in the next four to five years, the aviation regulator has said, according to media reports. In the last eight years, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 141, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation said this will grow up to 220 in the next four to five years. The Civil Aviation Ministry has given ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, including Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka; Dabra in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh; Dholera and Hirasar (Rajkot) in Gujarat; Karaikal in Puducherry; Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh; Durgapur in West Bengal; Pakyong in Sikkim; Kannur in Kerala; and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh. So far, eight greenfield airports — namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal and Kushinagar — have been put into operation. As per the Aviation Ministry, in the financial year 2022-23, clearance has been given to the Himachal Pradesh government for development of a new greenfield airport at Nagchala, Mandi. Another 35 airports, helipads and other facilities are targeted for development during FY 2022-23 under India’s UDAN regional aviation scheme. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]