100 New Airports To Be Built In India Over Next 10 Years: Aviation Minister Naidu
India will build 100 new airports in the next 10 years under the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN with an outlay of Rs 30,000 crore, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu has said.
He inaugurated India’s third ‘hub & spoke’ operations from Ahmedabad airport on Tuesday.
“While there were 74 airports in 2014, today we can proudly say that India’s map features 166 airports. Going from 74 to 166 set a record for the country. Over the last 12 years, we completed work on a new airport or a new terminal roughly every 40 days,” Naidu said at the event.
“This 12-year journey was merely the beginning for the Ministry of Civil Aviation. We have expanded upon the revolutionary changes brought to the air travel sector by the ‘UDAN’ scheme over the past decade. Looking ahead, we plan to spend approximately Rs 30,000 crore over the next 10 years to build 100 new airports,” he said.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year approved the launch and implementation of the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Modified UDAN – for a period of 10 years from FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36 with a total outlay of Rs 28,840 crore with the budgetary support of the Centre.
Naidu was here on Tuesday to inaugurate India’s third ‘hub & spoke’ operations from Ahmedabad airport, aimed at connecting passengers seamlessly to international destinations. The strategy is meant to transform the country into a global aviation hub by providing seamless international connectivity to passengers from across the country through Indian hub airports.
The Union minister said civil aviation is the fastest-growing sector in the country, and the public demand is no longer just for a railway station or a train stop but for an airport in their own town.
“And this demand is not limited to major cities – it comes from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, Himalayan regions, remote areas, and islands like Lakshadweep and Andaman. Everywhere, people are asking when an airport will be constructed in their area. This is the voice of modern India. We are listening to it, formulating policies accordingly, and moving forward,” he said.
While India is rapidly expanding its airport network, the real challenge lies not in the construction but in how effectively these airports are connected – both domestically and internationally, Naidu pointed out.
“When addressing the need for convenience, we recognised the immense potential of the ‘hub-and-spoke’ model,” he stated.
Explaining the model, Naidu said that typically, international flights operate from major cities. For instance, Delhi offers direct connectivity to 54 destinations.
“However, aspirations have grown; people now want international flights to start from existing airports and desire better domestic connectivity from airports that already handle international traffic. By integrating these needs, we initiated the hub-and-spoke model,” he said.
The scheme started with Varanasi and Amritsar, and the response from there was very positive, the minister noted.
Having launched operations at two locations, Ahmedabad was the ideal choice because the NRI community from the city and Gujarat is spread across the globe, and the ministry was receiving constant requests for connectivity from this region.
“I am confident that the figures we see here will surpass those of any other airport in the country operating on such a large-scale ‘hub-and-spoke’ model. We are moving forward with a focus on passenger convenience, and you will see the results of this transformation firsthand,” Naidu said.
The civil aviation sector is the fastest-growing sector in India, whose strength lies in its ability to generate significant economic activity and employment, the minister stressed.
“Its impact extends across various sectors, connecting a diverse range of people to the airport within a city. Advancing airports and aviation means advancing the entire nation – such is the power of our civil aviation sector,” he said, adding that Gujarat plays a pivotal role in the National Civil Aviation Policy.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi were also present at the event.
