Lok Sabha Question No. 861 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-04
Subject: Growth of Aviation Infrastructure
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Shri Chavda Vinod Lakhamshi, Shri Rajpalsinh Mahendrasinh Jadav, Smt. Lovely Anand

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 861

( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE  4th December 2025 )

## GROWTH OF AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE

## 861.    SHRI CHAVDA VINOD LAKHAMSHI SHRI RAJPALSINH MAHENDRASINH JADAV SMT. LOVELY ANAND

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION

be pleased to state:-

- (a)  the  total  number  of  airports,  heliports  and  water  aerodromes  currently operational in the country along with the details of their growth during the last ten years, year-wise;
- (b)  the  number  of  operational  air  routes  and  the  total  number  of  passengers travelled during 2024-25;
- (c)  the  concrete  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  make  air  travel  more affordable and accessible for the common citizens till date;
- (d)  the  latest  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  for  modernization  and expansion of airport infrastructure in the country including in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to meet global standards; and
- (e) the details of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) provided to the airlines thereof?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a)  :  India's  aviation  industry  has  experienced  significant  growth  in  the  past decade. The number of operational airports in the country has more than doubled from 74 in 2014 to 164 in 2025. The major factor contributing to this expansion is the Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN), launched  in  2016  to  enhance  regional  air  connectivity  and  make  air  travel affordable.

(b) : A total of 23.96 Crore Passengers (16.55 Crore Domestic Passengers + 7.41 Crore International Passengers) have travelled through Scheduled Domestic and International  Flights  during  the  Financial  Year  2024-25.  As  per  the  approved schedule, state-wise connectivity of Winter Schedule-2024  and  Summer Schedule-2025 is attached as Annexure-I and Annexure-II.

(c) to (e) : To ensure the affordability of regional air travel, the UDAN scheme provides financial incentives to airline operators on regional routes that include: Concessions by the Central Government, State Governments/ Union Territories and airport operators to reduce airline operation costs and also the Viability Gap Funding  (VGF)  to  bridge  the  gap  between  operational  costs  and  expected revenues on such routes. The airfare on the RCS seats on which VGF is provided to the Selected Airline Operators (SAOs) is for a 3-year tenure and is capped at a subsidized rate, which is liable to be indexed every quarter. The above measures aim to strengthen affordability, accessibility and overall passenger convenience in  the  aviation  sector,  thereby  promoting  regional  development  and  economic growth.  VGF  amount  of  Rs.  4352  crores  has  been  disbursed  to  support  the Selected Airline Operators.

Modernisation and development of infrastructure facilities at the existing airports is a continuous process, which is undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI)  or  the  concerned  Airport  Operator  /  Developer  depending  upon  traffic demand, commercial feasibility, operational requirements for safety of aircraft operation and demand from airlines.

******

## Annexure I

## State Wise Air Connectivity - Winter Schedule 2024

| Sl. No .   | State             | Names of Cities Air linked                                                     | No of Airport s   |
|------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| States     | States            | States                                                                         | States            |
| 1          | Andhra Pradesh    | Rajamundry, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Vizag,Cuddapah, Kurnool                      | 6                 |
| 2          | Arunachal Pradesh | Pasighat,Tezu, Ziro, Hollongi                                                  | 4                 |
| 3          | Assam             | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar, Rupsi                          | 6                 |
| 4          | Bihar             | Gaya, Patna, Darbhanga                                                         | 3                 |
| 5          | Chhattisgarh      | Raipur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur                                                    | 3                 |
| 6          | Delhi             | Delhi                                                                          | 1                 |
| 7          | Goa               | Goa , Mopa (new Goa)                                                           | 2                 |
| 8          | Gujarat           | Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Hirasar, Surat, Vadodara, Kandla, Keshod, Bhavnagar | 9                 |
| 9          | Haryana           | -                                                                              | 0                 |
| 10         | Himachal Pradesh  | Dharamshala, Kullu, Shimla                                                     | 3                 |
| 11         | Jharkhand         | Ranchi, Deoghar, Jamshedpur                                                    | 3                 |
| 12         | Karnataka         | Bangalore, Belgaum, Mangalore, Hubli,Vidyanagar, Mysore,Gulbarga, Shivmoga     | 8                 |
| 13         | Kerala            | Cochin, Trivandrum,Kannur, Kozhikode                                           | 4                 |

| 14                | Madhya Pradesh           | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Khajurao                                                                                        | 5                 |
|-------------------|--------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 15                | Maharashtra              | Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Nasik, Kolhapur, Shirdi, Nanded, Sindhudurg, Gondia, Jalgaon                                     | 11                |
| 16                | Manipur                  | Imphal                                                                                                                             | 1                 |
| 17                | Meghalaya                | Shillong                                                                                                                           | 1                 |
| 18                | Mizoram                  | Aizwal                                                                                                                             | 1                 |
| 19                | Nagaland                 | Dimapur                                                                                                                            | 1                 |
| 20                | Orissa                   | Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Jeypore, Utkela                                                                                 | 5                 |
| 21                | Punjab                   | Amritsar, Bhatinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar                                                                                            | 4                 |
| 22                | Rajasthan                | Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Kishangarh                                                                           | 6                 |
| 23                | Sikkim                   | -                                                                                                                                  |                   |
| 24                | Tamil Nadu               | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tuticorin, Salem                                                                             | 6                 |
| 25                | Telangana                | Hyderabad                                                                                                                          | 1                 |
| 26                | Tripura                  | Agartala                                                                                                                           | 1                 |
| 27                | Uttar Pradesh            | Agra,Ayodhya, Prayagraj Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Varanasi,Kanpur, Hindon, Bareilly, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, Moradabad, Shravasti | 14                |
| 28                | Uttarakhand              | Dehradun, Pant Nagar, Pithoragarh                                                                                                  | 3                 |
| 29                | West Bengal              | Bagdogra, Kolkata, Durgapur, CoochBehar                                                                                            | 4                 |
| Union Territories | Union Territories        | Union Territories                                                                                                                  | Union Territories |
| 1                 | Andaman& Nicobar Islands | Port Blair                                                                                                                         | 1                 |

| 2                                                         | Lakshadweep Islands                                       | Agatti                                                    | 1   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----|
| 3                                                         | Chandigarh                                                | Chandigarh                                                | 1   |
| 4                                                         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli                                       | -                                                         |     |
| 5                                                         | Daman &Diu                                                | Diu                                                       | 1   |
| 6                                                         | Puducherry                                                | Pondicherry                                               | 1   |
| 7                                                         | Jammu &Kashmir                                            | Jammu, Srinagar                                           | 2   |
| 8                                                         | Ladakh                                                    | Leh,                                                      | 1   |
| Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers | Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers | Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers | 124 |

## Annexure II

## State Wise Air Connectivity - Summer Schedule 2025

| Sl. No .   | State &Union Territories   | Names of Cities Air linked                                  | No of Airport s   |
|------------|----------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| States     | States                     | States                                                      | States            |
| 1          | Andhra Pradesh             | Cuddapah, Kurnool, Rajamundry, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Vizag, | 6                 |
| 2          | Arunachal Pradesh          | Hollongi ,Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro,                             | 4                 |
| 3          | Assam                      | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Lilabari, Silchar              | 5                 |
| 4          | Bihar                      | Darbhanga ,Gaya, Patna                                      | 3                 |
| 5          | Chhattisgarh               | Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur, , Raipur                    | 4                 |
| 6          | Delhi                      | Delhi                                                       | 1                 |

|   7 | Goa              | Goa , Mopa (new Goa)                                                                                      |   2 |
|-----|------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|
|   8 | Gujarat          | Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Hirasar, Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar, Surat, Vadodara                 |  10 |
|   9 | Haryana          | -                                                                                                         |   0 |
|  10 | Himachal Pradesh | Dharamshala, Kullu, Shimla                                                                                |   3 |
|  11 | Jharkhand        | Deoghar, Jamshedpur, Ranchi                                                                               |   3 |
|  12 | Karnataka        | Bangalore, Belgaum, Bidar, Hubli, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Shivmoga, Vidyanagar                       |   9 |
|  13 | Kerala           | Cochin, Kannur, Kozhikode, Trivandrum                                                                     |   4 |
|  14 | Madhya Pradesh   | Bhopal, Datia, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Khajurao, Rewa                                                  |   7 |
|  15 | Maharashtra      | Aurangabad, Gondia, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded , Nashik, Pune, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Solapur |  12 |
|  16 | Manipur          | Imphal                                                                                                    |   1 |
|  17 | Meghalaya        | Shillong                                                                                                  |   1 |
|  18 | Mizoram          | Aizwal                                                                                                    |   1 |
|  19 | Nagaland         | Dimapur                                                                                                   |   1 |
|  20 | Orissa           | Bhubaneswar, Jeypore, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Utkela                                                        |   5 |
|  21 | Punjab           | Amritsar, Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana                                                                   |   4 |
|  22 | Rajasthan        | Bikaner, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Udaipur                                                  |   6 |
|  23 | Sikkim           | Pakyong                                                                                                   |   1 |
|  24 | Tamil Nadu       | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Trichy, Tuticorin,                                                   |   6 |
|  25 | Telangana        | Hyderabad                                                                                                 |   1 |
|  26 | Tripura          | Agartala                                                                                                  |   1 |

| 27                                                        | Uttar Pradesh                                             | Agra, Ayodhya, Aligarh, Bareilly, Chitrakoot, Gorakhpur, Hindon, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Moradabad, Shravasti, Varanasi   | 13                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 28                                                        | Uttarakhand                                               | Dehradun, Pant Nagar, Pithoragarh                                                                                             | 3                 |
| 29                                                        | West Bengal                                               | Bagdogra, CoochBehar, Durgapur, Kolkata                                                                                       | 4                 |
| Union Territories                                         | Union Territories                                         | Union Territories                                                                                                             | Union Territories |
| 1                                                         | Andaman& Nicobar Islands                                  | Port Blair                                                                                                                    | 1                 |
| 2                                                         | Lakshadweep Islands                                       | Agatti                                                                                                                        | 1                 |
| 3                                                         | Chandigarh                                                | Chandigarh                                                                                                                    | 1                 |
| 4                                                         | Dadra &Nagar Haveli                                       | -                                                                                                                             |                   |
| 5                                                         | Daman &Diu                                                | Diu                                                                                                                           | 1                 |
| 6                                                         | Pondicherry                                               | Pondicherry                                                                                                                   | 1                 |
| 7                                                         | Jammu& Kashmir                                            | Jammu, Srinagar                                                                                                               | 2                 |
| 8                                                         | Ladakh                                                    | Leh,                                                                                                                          | 1                 |
| Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers | Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers | Number of cities connected by Scheduled domestic carriers                                                                     | 129               |