Aviation growth: Govt sets target of 350 airports by 2047, Union minister says states and smaller cities will drive expansion

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Monday said the Centre aims to build 350 airports across India by 2047 as part of its vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’, more than doubling the current tally of 162 airports, ANI reported.Speaking at the Eastern Region Ministers’ Conference on Civil Aviation, Kinjarapu said civil aviation was the fastest-growing sector in the country. “To achieve the target of 2047 Viksit Bharat, aviation is a very important sector. We are seeing that the biggest growth sector in the country is civil aviation. Nobody is growing like India is growing in civil aviation,” ANI quoted as him saying.The minister stressed that state governments would be fully supported in expanding their aviation footprint. “Our aim is to build 350 airports by the year 2047,” he added.Kinjarapu highlighted that 88 new airports had been developed in the past 11 years, many of them in tier two and tier three cities. He announced new projects in Odisha, including a new terminal building at Bhubaneswar airport and an in-principle approval for an airport in Puri.“After construction starts for the Puri airport, it will take two years for it to be completed. The state government is very excited to move into the construction of that airport. So, we will support that also,” he said. The minister added that Odisha has 11 airstrips which could be converted into airports and said the Centre would also provide support for setting up flight training organisations.On connectivity beyond airports, Kinjarapu said rules for seaplane operations had been streamlined and two aircraft were expected in October, with services planned for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. He also underlined the plan to build heliports in districts where airports are not feasible, particularly in hilly areas and the Northeast.On the AI171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, Kinjarapu said the investigation was ongoing. “There are multiple angles that need to be looked at. AAIB have done a thorough job, with a lot of commitment and accountability, and they have also produced a report. It will take 4-5 months more for the final report to be out,” he said.