Lok Sabha Question No. 49 (STARRED), answered on 2024-11-28
Subject: Functional Airports and Airstrips
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Shri Kripanath Mallah, Shri Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Bapurao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

Lok Sabha

STARRED QUESTION NO. : 49

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  28th November 2024 )

FUNCTIONAL AIRPORTS AND AIRSTRIPS

## 49.    SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH

SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  number  of  functional  airports/airstrips  in  the  country  at present;
- (b)  the  number  of  airports/airstrips  out  of  the  said  functional airports/airstrips constructed since 2014;
- (c)  the  details  of  domestic  air  passenger  traffic  data  since  2014, year-wise;
- (d) the details of ten airports with the highest number of domestic passengers this year; and
- (e)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  make  air  travel  more affordable for citizens?

## ANSWER

Minister of CIVIL AVIATION      (Shri Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

******

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 49 FOR  REPLY  ON  28.11.2024  REGARDING  "FUNCTIONAL AIRPORTS AND AIRSTRIPS" ASKED BY SHRI KRIPANATH MALLAH AND SHRI AASHTIKAR PATIL NAGESH BAPURAO;;    (a):  At  present,  there  are  157  operational aerodromes (including heliports and water aerodromes) in the  country.  (b):  Since  2014,  83  aerodromes  have  been constructed/  made  operational  in  the  country.;  (c):  The year-wise details of domestic air passenger traffic handled at  airports  in  the  country  since  2014  are  at  Annexure  I.; (d): The details of ten airports with the highest number of domestic passengers based on the provisional data for the current FY 2024-25 upto October, 2024 are at Annexure II.; (e):  The  Ministry  of  Civil  Aviation  has  launched  Regional Connectivity  Scheme  (RCS)-UDAN  (Ude  Desh  ka  Aam Nagrik) to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the  masses.  The  RCS-UDAN Scheme  seeks  to  make  air  travel  more  accessible  and affordable  to  a  larger  population  from  Tier-II  and  Tier-III cities.  The  scheme  has  expanded  the  domestic  aviation market, thereby increasing the number of air passengers and flight frequencies. 609 routes, connecting 86 airports, including 13 heliports & 02 water aerodromes, have so far been operationalised. More than 144 lakh domestic passengers have travelled through 2.83 lakh UDAN flights. To address the anticipated growth in air traffic, AAI and other  Airport  Operators  have  targeted  capital  outlay  of more  than  Rs.  91,000  crore  in  the  airport  sector  during 2019-24  under  National  Infrastructure  Pipeline  (NIP)  for construction  of  Greenfield  Airports  and  new  terminals, expansion  and  modernisation  of  existing  terminals  and strengthening  of  runways,  among  other  activities  and already  spent  approximately  Rs.81300  crore.  The  total number of operational airports in the country has risen to 157, with a combined capacity to handle over 530 million passengers  per  annum  (MPPA),  compared  to  an  actual footfall  of  220  million  passengers  in  the  financial  year

2023-24. Additionally, Government of India has established an independent economic regulator i.e Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) for determination of Tariff for aeronautical services rendered at  Major  Airports  which  aims  to  optimally  balance  the interest of service provider and the end user and ensures that  the  airport  operator  maintains  and  operates  the airport with reasonable return on investment.

## ANNEXURE I

Annexure referred to in reply to part (c) of Lok Sabha Starrred Question No. 49 for 28.11.2024

| Statement of Number of Passengers Carried by Scheduled Indian Operators for Scheduled Domestic Operations   | Statement of Number of Passengers Carried by Scheduled Indian Operators for Scheduled Domestic Operations   | Statement of Number of Passengers Carried by Scheduled Indian Operators for Scheduled Domestic Operations   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Year                                                                                                        | ( In numbers)                                                                                               |                                                                                                             |
| 2014                                                                                                        | 66,772,641                                                                                                  |                                                                                                             |
| 2015                                                                                                        | 80,753,743                                                                                                  |                                                                                                             |
| 2016                                                                                                        | 99,475,474                                                                                                  |                                                                                                             |
| 2017                                                                                                        | 116,775,928                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |
| 2018                                                                                                        | 138,698,284                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |
| 2019                                                                                                        | 143,736,256                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |
| 2020                                                                                                        | 62,858,348                                                                                                  |                                                                                                             |
| 2021                                                                                                        | 82,745,079                                                                                                  |                                                                                                             |
| 2022                                                                                                        | 123,242,014                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |
| 2023                                                                                                        | 152,040,530                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |
| 2024(P)-( Upto Oct 24')                                                                                     | 132,148,887                                                                                                 |                                                                                                             |

Annexure referred to in reply to part (d) of Lok Sabha Starrred Question No. 49 for 28.11.2024

| Sl.No.           | Top 10 Domestic Airports in 2024(P)-(up to Oct 2024)   | Passenger ( In numbers)   |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1                | DELHI                                                  | 46,058,788                |
| 2                | MUMBAI                                                 | 32,111,146                |
| 3                | BENGALURU                                              | 28,746,030                |
| 4                | HYDERABAD                                              | 18,813,052                |
| 5                | KOLKATA                                                | 15,154,491                |
| 6                | CHENNAI                                                | 13,132,837                |
| 7                | AHMEDABAD                                              | 8,576,305                 |
| 8                | PUNE                                                   | 8,361,082                 |
| 9                | DABOLIM                                                | 5,316,402                 |
| 10               | GUWAHATI                                               | 5,007,414                 |
| (P)- Provisional | (P)- Provisional                                       | (P)- Provisional          |