India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and is already the third largest domestic aviation market. At present, there are 30 international airports in the country. The average monthly footfall and annual passenger handling capacity of international airports for the year 2022-23 are at Annexure. The Government has taken several measures to enhance the ease of travel for passengers such as capacity enhancement through infrastructural changes in existing terminals, installation and commissioning of additional X-ray machines for baggage check, deployment of additional manpower by CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), airlines and airport operators, management of slot allocation, co-ordination with airlines to avoid bunching of flights etc. Additionally, to provide seamless and hassle-free experience for passengers at airports, the Government has launched Digi Yatra for biometric-based travel using Facial Recognition Technology. In the first phase, Digi Yatra has been launched at Delhi, Bangalore, Varanasi, Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Hyderabad Airports.
The upgradation of infrastructures/facilities at airports is a continuous process, which is undertaken by the AAI or the concerned Airport Operators depending upon operational requirements, traffic, demand, commercial feasibility etc. Moreover, Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) on 21.10.2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable for the masses. Besides, both AAI and other PPP Airport Operators have embarked upon a Capex Plan for more than Rs.98,000 crore including around Rs.25,000 crore by AAI during 2019-24 for development/ upgradation/ modernisation of various brownfield airports and developing Greenfield Airports to meet the passenger growth and make air travel safer, comfortable and customer friendly. This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen. (Dr) V. K. Singh (Retd) in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday.
