Centre prepares five-year plan for 50+ new airports in smaller cities

New Delhi: The Centre has prepared a five-year plan for developing and expanding more than 50 airports in smaller cities, two senior officials aware of the development said on condition of anonymity. The move is in line with anticipated growth in air travel demand in these cities.

The plan, which has been put together by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), aims to develop airport infrastructure across different projects that are either underway or will be undertaken by the central government, states, or private players, until 2030.

The plans come at a time when Indian domestic air traffic is showing strong signs of growth. Data from the ministry of civil aviation showed that domestic air traffic touched a new high of 477,554 passengers on 2 September, nearly 1.5% higher than the previous record of 470,751 passengers recorded on 21 April earlier this year.

In particular focus among new airports is Bihta, which is set to serve as the second airport for Bihar’s capital Patna. The foundation ceremony for the airport is slated for end-2024 as the government prepares for growing air travel demand at Patna airport, which is likely to get saturated around early 2030s.

Once completed, the airport will offer facilities such as over 60 check-in counters, more than 15 self-check-in kiosks, and will be able to handle 3,000 passengers during peak hours with an annual capacity to reach up to 5 million passengers over the next 20 years.

The five-year plan also includes greenfield (new) airports such as Ankleshwar and Dwarka in Gujarat, the people cited above said.

Also read: India has big-city ambitions for its small airports.

“Over the next five years, we can expect significant growth in air travel demand from cities in India that are currently underserved or unserved,” said Pragya Priyadarshini, vice president at management consulting firm Primus Partners.

Priyadarshini said that as development projects take shape in these regions in the form of new industries, infrastructure, and services, people and businesses will need faster and more efficient ways to connect with other parts of the country and the world.

“This naturally leads to growing demand for airports in these areas,” she added.

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More development on the anvil

The government is also preparing to start development work on new civil enclaves across some air force stations. Some such projects in the pipeline for the next five years include Thanjavur in Tamil Badu, Hasimara in West Bengal, and Thoise in Ladakh, among others.

Then, during the next five years, some airports will also see a transition towards larger aircraft support from turboprop operation currently. These include VFR (visual flight rules) operation for narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A320 at Agatti airport, IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) operation for narrow-body aircraft at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand, and expansion of Mysuru airport operations to handle narrow-body aircraft.

As per VFR flight rules, the pilot must be able to operate the aircraft with visual reference to the ground, and by visually avoiding obstructions and other aircraft. IFR flight depends on flying by reference to instruments in the flight deck, and navigation is accomplished by reference to electronic signals as the visual reference is not clear.

As air traffic rises, Indian airlines have also prepared to create the capacity as airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air have more than 1,600 aircraft in the pipeline that are to be delivered until the end of the decade or so.

Also read: India prepares plan to double airports to 300 by 2047