The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has launched its most extensive modernisation of air navigation services to date, aiming to expand national airspace capacity and support long-term aviation growth. The programme will upgrade, revamp or build 65 air traffic control (ATC) towers by 2029, with investment estimated between Rs 150 billion and Rs 170 billion. Around 60 per cent of the cost will go towards civil works and 40 per cent towards technology.

“We may get enough planes and pilots, but not having enough airspace to navigate will become the single biggest bottleneck for India’s aviation growth,” a senior official told CNBC-TV18.

The plan seeks to remove this bottleneck by upgrading equipment, automation and procedures across airports of all sizes.

AAI’s programme covers 65 airports and is scheduled for completion by 2029. Of these: • Thirteen airports with over 100 daily aircraft movements will undergo full ATC and air navigation services (ANS) revamps at five locations and major navigation upgrades at eight. • Twenty-two airports will receive ATC tower revamps along with new ANS systems. • Twenty-six airports will retain their existing towers but install upgraded ANS equipment. • Four greenfield airports — Bhogapuram, Navi Mumbai, Dholera and Jewar — will receive entirely new ATC towers fitted with modern systems, as these locations are expected to see heavy traffic growth over the next decade.

Technology enhancements will focus on improved automation, better sequencing and reduced aircraft separation to increase throughput. India’s busiest airports currently manage around 44–46 movements per hour, compared with 56–57 at leading global hubs. The objective is to narrow this gap by improving efficiency within existing airspace rather than expanding physical capacity alone.

A skilled workforce is central to this transformation. AAI operates training centres in Prayagraj, Hyderabad and Gondia, and plans to upgrade the Prayagraj academy with new buildings, simulators and radar systems. This will increase training capacity and reduce the time taken for controllers to become fully operational.

Officials cautioned that long procurement timelines for navigation and surveillance systems remain a major risk, with delays posing the biggest threat to meeting the 2029 deadline.

AAI will begin phased roll-outs of the upgrades while continuing routine enhancements across the network. The programme’s success will depend on timely procurement, strong coordination with airlines and the military, and the ability to train and deploy several thousand additional controllers over the next four years.