Parliament Question: Development of Jolly Grant, Pantnagar, Bhogapuram international airports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 188 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 2nd February 2026 DEVELOPMENT OF JOLLY GRANT, PANTNAGAR, BHOGAPURAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS 188. SHRI NARESH BANSAL SHRI RYAGA KRISHNAIAH Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- a) the details of Jolly Grant, Pantnagar and Bhogapuram international airports, including their capacity, key features and expected impact on regional air connectivity; (b) the number of greenfield airports currently under development across the country and their expected timelines for commencement of operations; (c) the steps being taken to ensure sustainable aviation practices at the newly developed airports, including the integration of solar power capacity and sustainable aviation fuel infrastructure; and (d) the expected job creation and economic benefits from these airport projects? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a): Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun and Pantnagar airport are domestic Airports of Airports Authority of India (AAI) with total handling capacity of 3.7 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) & 0.04 MPPA respectively. During 2024-25 Jolly grant Airport, Dehradun and Pantnagar airport handled 1.72 and 0.10 Million passengers respectively. Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport Project is being implemented by Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The airport has been envisaged by the GoAP with a state-of-the art infrastructure, catering to both domestic and international passengers with the initial handling capacity of 6 MPPA. (b): Under Greenfield Airports (GFA) Policy, 2008, Government of India (GoI) has accorded "In-Principle'' approval for setting up of 24 Greenfield Airports across the country. Out of these, 13 Greenfield airports have been operationalised. The timeline for completion of the airport projects depends upon several factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances including environmental clearances, financial closure etc. (c): Airport operators with scheduled operations are required to assess and manage carbon emissions and progressively move towards carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions. Toreduce emissions, airports including the Airports Authority of India (AAI), are increasingly using Renewable Energy (RE) sources. The Government has approved indicative blending targets of 1% by 2027, 2% by 2028, and 5% by 2030 for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), initially for international flights. (d): Airports have emerged as a nucleus of economic activities and have multiplier effect on the economy of the State. Development of airports leads to increase in passenger movements, tourism development, employment generation and augmentation in circle rates of land valuation leading to enhanced collection of various taxes/stamp duties etc., in the respective State and in the overall development of the Country. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) study shows that the air connectivity has an economic multiplier of 3.25 and employment multiplier of 6.1. ******