India to build 100 new airports in 10 years under UDAN: Aviation Minister

Mangalore Today News Network

Ahmedabad, September 2, 2026: India will build 100 new airports over the next 10 years under the Centre’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, with an estimated investment of around Rs 30,000 crore, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said on Tuesday.

Naidu was speaking after inaugurating India’s third ‘hub-and-spoke’ aviation operation at Ahmedabad airport, aimed at providing seamless connectivity to international destinations through major Indian airports.

“While there were 74 airports in 2014, today India has 166 airports. Over the past 12 years, we have completed work on a new airport or terminal roughly every 40 days,” Naidu said.

He said the expansion of the country’s airport network would continue under the modified UDAN scheme.

“Over the next 10 years, we plan to spend approximately Rs 30,000 crore to build 100 new airports,” he said.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the Modified UDAN scheme in March for a 10-year period from 2026-27 to 2035-36, with a total outlay of Rs 28,840 crore, including central budgetary support.

Naidu said the government was receiving growing demands for airports not only from major cities but also from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, Himalayan regions, remote areas and island territories such as Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

“This is the voice of modern India. We are listening to it, formulating policies accordingly and moving forward,” he said.

However, he said expanding the airport network was only part of the challenge, with effective domestic and international connectivity equally important.

Explaining the hub-and-spoke model, Naidu said international flights generally operate from major cities, while passengers from other parts of the country rely on domestic connections to reach these hubs.

The model seeks to integrate domestic and international connectivity through major hub airports, he said. The initiative was first launched at Varanasi and Amritsar, where it received a positive response.

Ahmedabad was selected as the third hub due to the large Gujarati and NRI community seeking improved international connectivity, Naidu said.

“I am confident that the figures we see here will surpass those of any other airport in the country operating such a large-scale hub-and-spoke model,” he said.

Naidu described civil aviation as one of India’s fastest-growing sectors and said its expansion would generate economic activity and employment across various sectors.

“Advancing airports and aviation means advancing the entire nation,” he said, adding that Gujarat has an important role to play in implementing the National Civil Aviation Policy.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi were also present at the event.