As many as 22 airports owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are currently non-operational across 12 states in the country, the Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Parliament on Thursday (29 January).
According to the data provided by the government in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, the state-wise list of non-operational airports includes facilities such as Donakonda (Andhra Pradesh), Daparizo (Arunachal Pradesh), Jogbani, Muzaffarpur and Raxaul (Bihar), Deesa (Gujarat), Chakulia and Dhalbhumgarh (Jharkhand), Khandwa and Panna (Madhya Pradesh), Shella (Meghalaya), Aizawl (Turial) in Mizoram, Thanjavur and Vellore (Tamil Nadu), Nadirgul and Warangal (Telangana), Kailashahar, Kamalpur and Khowai in Tripura, and Asansol, Balurghat and Malda in West Bengal.
In the written reply, Minister of State in the Ministry of civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol stated that these airports remain non-functional due to various reasons, including lack of passenger demand and inadequate supporting infrastructure.
Highlighting the limited role of the government in ensuring regular services, the minister informed that since the repeal of the Air Corporation Act in 1994, airlines independently decide their routes based on operational feasibility and commercial considerations.
“These airports are presently non-operational due to factors such as lack of passenger demand, inadequate supporting infrastructure, land-related constraints, and commercial unviability. Further, following the repeal of the Air Corporation Act in 1994, airlines independently decide route networks based on their assessment of operational feasibility and commercial viability,” the minister said.
The minister noted that while AAI owns 22 non-operational airports, Balurghat and Malda in West Bengal are currently under the operational control of the state.
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