Parliament Question: Status of airports developed under UDAN and expenditure on non-operational airports

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 183 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 2nd February 2026 STATUS OF AIRPORTS DEVELOPED UNDER UDAN AND EXPENDITURE ON NON-OPERATIONAL AIRPORTS 183. SMT RENUKA CHOWDHURY Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) total number of airports, heliports constructed, revived or inaugurated under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme it started in 2016 during last five years, State-wise and year-wise; (b) total number of airports presently operational with regular commercial flight services and those that are non-operational, along with the reasons thereof; (c) airports where flight operations commenced under UDAN but subsequently discontinued, duration of operations and reasons for discontinuation; (d) airports where no commercial flight has taken off until date; and (e) total expenditure incurred on management and upkeep of non-operational airports since their existence under the UDAN scheme, airport-wise and year-wise? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (e) : Under the Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (RCS- UDAN), 36 unserved and underserved airports (including 10 heliports) have been operationalized during the last five years. Details are at Annexure. Additionally, Ayodhya and Solapur airports have also been developed under the UDAN scheme, where commercial flight operations have already commenced. Currently, 15 (fifteen) airports namely Pathankot, Pakyong, Kushinagar, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Shravasti, Moradabad, Bhavnagar, Ambikapur, Ludhiana, Datia, Kalaburagi, Shimla and Cooch Behar are non-operational under the UDAN Scheme due to factors such as completion of the three-year concession period, poor visibility conditions, daytime runway restrictions at VFR-only airports, shortage of aircraft, leasing issues, temporary discontinuation by airlines, novation of routes and low passenger load factors. Saharanpur airport has been developed at cost of Rs.46.86 crore under the scheme and is ready for operations however, flight operations are yet to start from the airport. There is no provision under the UDAN Scheme for management and upkeep of non- operational airports.******Annexure List of RCS Airports Operationalized during last five years (F.Y. wise) as on 20.01.2026 S. No. Airport F.Y. 2021-22 1. Rupsi (Assam) 2. Passighat (Arunachal Pradesh) 3. Tezu (Arunachal Pradesh) 4. Haldwani – Heliport (Uttarakhand) 5. Sindhudurg (Maharashtra) 6. Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) 7. Mandi - Heliport (Himachal Pradesh) 8. Rampur – Heliport (Himachal Pradesh) 9. Gondia (Maharashtra) F.Y. 2022-23 1. Keshod (Gujarat) 2. Deoghar (Jharkhand) 3. Jeypore (Orissa) 4. Almora – Heliport (Uttarakhand) 5. Rourkela (Orissa) 6. Hollongi (Arunachal Pradesh) 7. Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) 8. Cooch Behar (West Bengal) F.Y. 2023-24 1. Utkela (Odisha) 2. Shivamogga (Karnataka) 3. Champawat – Heliport (Uttarakhand) 4. Munsyari – Heliport (Uttarakhand) 5. Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) 6. Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) 7. Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh) 8. Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh) 9. Jiribam Heliport (Manipur) 10. Tamenglong Heliport (Manipur) F.Y. 2024-25 1. Agatti (Lakshadweep) 2. Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) 3. Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) 4. Ambikapur (Chattisgarh) 5. Nainital Heliport (Uttarakhand)S. No. Airport F.Y. 2021-22 6. Bageshwar Heliport (Uttarakhand) F.Y. 2025-26 1 Amravati (Maharashtra) 2 Datia (Madhya Pradesh) 3 Purnea (Bihar)