Indian airports are about to witness massive expansion and revamp in the coming years with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other private Airport Developers targeting a capital outlay of INR 980bn. This investment will be made over a period of the next five years mostly for the expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, and strengthening of runways.
Going ahead, currently, six more airports are being elevated or constructed in India bringing the total tally of international airports in the country to 30.
Upgradation and modernisation of airports’ infrastructure is a continuous process and is undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other Airport Developers from time to time depending on the availability of land, commercial viability, socio-economic considerations, traffic demand and willingness of airlines to operate at such airports, the minister stated in the written reply in answer to a question.
The country’s domestic air traffic on a day-to-day basis has reached pre-pandemic levels with Tuesday reporting a traffic of 411,907 passengers and major operators like Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo recording a load factor of over 90%.