Number of airports in the country to go up

In order to increase the "width and depth of air penetration," the Civil Aviation Ministry has developed plans to increase the number of airports operating in the nation to over 200 over the next five to six years, Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated here on Saturday. While on a quick visit, Scindia noted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, the number of new airports created in the nation throughout its 67 years of independence has climbed to 147 from 74 in the previous 8.5 years.

According to Scindia, the Ministry plans to increase the number of airports operating in the nation to over 200 in the following five to six years.

He emphasized that increasing international lines alone could not improve the country's air connectivity and that tier II and III towns also needed to have better access to the air.

"We started a small aircraft programmed last year under the Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme, which will only include aircraft with fewer than 20 seats. All of these are smaller aircraft; they are neither ATRs, Boeing, or Airbus. The penetration is at the grassroots level because these are sub-20-seater aircraft "he stated.

According to Scindia, these aircraft are currently operating in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and the North Eastern States, and enhanced landing grounds have been activated on the Arunachal Pradesh border to ensure 100% penetration.

The "mantra" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he claimed, is that air penetration must extend across the entire country.

In response to a question regarding the Parandur greenfield airport, which is close to Chennai, he stated that the Ministry was in contact with TIDCO (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd.) and was reviewing the project proposal. Through the Airport Authority of India and Directorate General of Civil Aviation, it would give the "site" and "in-principle" approvals.

"To determine whether there are any barriers on the flight path from a safety and security perspective, DGCA and AAI must investigate the proposal for a new airport. You should address your query to the State administration "In response to a question regarding the Parandur villager protest against the project, he stated.

A second airport for the city would be built at Parandur near Sriperumbudur at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore with an annual capacity of 100 million passengers, according to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in August 2022.