The move is aimed at strengthening regional connectivity and making air travel more accessible in smaller towns and remote areas, while also improving links to regions that remain underserved by aviation.
100 airports planned under Modified UDAN
Under the scheme, 100 airports will be developed from existing unserved airstrips over eight years, with ₹12,159 crore earmarked for the project. It also provides three years of operations and maintenance support for around 441 aerodromes.
The broader plan also includes:
- 200 modern helipads for hilly, remote, island and aspirational regions
- Financial support for airlines operating regional routes
- Measures to strengthen the sustainability of regional airports
- Support for indigenous aviation capacity and aircraft
Focus on smaller cities and remote regions
Union Minister Naidu said the demand for airports is no longer limited to major urban centres, as people in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, Himalayan regions and island territories are also seeking better air connectivity. The government aims to use the expansion to boost tourism, trade and employment, while improving access to essential services.
Ahmedabad joins hub-and-spoke network
Ahmedabad airport became the third Indian airport to join the government’s international hub-and-spoke framework on September 1, after Varanasi and Amritsar.
Under the model, passengers can complete check-in, immigration and customs formalities at Ahmedabad before flying to Delhi, where they can transfer directly to their international flight without repeating these procedures. Their baggage is also transferred through to the final destination.
Union Minister Naidu said the model will help strengthen Ahmedabad’s international connectivity and benefit Gujarat’s trade, tourism and business sectors.
The government plans to extend the hub-and-spoke model to 22 more airports in the current phase.
Gaps in UDAN
While the planned expansion could improve air connectivity across India, the experience of earlier UDAN phases shows that building airport infrastructure alone may not guarantee regular or sustainable flight operations. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s 2023 audit of UDAN highlighted several gaps in the scheme:
- 403 of the 774 routes awarded up to UDAN-3, or 52 per cent, did not commence operations
- Of the 371 routes that did commence, only 112 completed the full three-year concession period
- Only 54 routes connecting 17 RCS airports continued operations beyond the concession period as of March 2023
- Overall, just 7 per cent of the 774 routes awarded up to UDAN-3 had proved sustainable over three to five years
The audit also found that 83 of the 139 airports, heliports and water aerodromes identified for revival or development under the first three UDAN phases were either unutilised or under-utilised by March 2023. These findings show that the new airports will need sustainable flight operations and passenger demand.
The government has sought to address these challenges by focusing not only on airport construction but also on keeping regional air services running over the long term. Modified UDAN provides three years of operations and maintenance support for over 400 aerodromes, while ₹10,043 crore has been set aside over 10 years to financially support airlines operating regional routes.
