India's airport passenger handling capacity rises to over 580 million annually: Govt informed in Parliament

New Delhi: India's airport passenger handling capacity has increased to more than 580 million passengers per annum (MPPA), while airports handled around 420 million passengers during 2025-26, the Government informed Parliament on Monday.

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In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said capacity augmentation and modernisation projects are being undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other airport operators in line with traffic growth, operational requirements, airline demand, financial viability and techno-economic considerations.

"As a result of these initiatives, the total passenger-handling capacity at airports across the country has been enhanced to over 580 million passengers per annum (MPPA), while passenger traffic handled during 2025-26 was about 420 million," Mohol said.

The minister said India currently has 166 operational airports. He added that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted in-principle approval for 25 greenfield airports, of which 14 have already been operationalised.

In a separate written reply, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said 11 scheduled and scheduled commuter airlines are currently operating in the country. He reiterated that the government remains committed to creating a conducive environment for the expansion of existing carriers while facilitating the entry of new operators into the aviation market.

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Naidu said Indian scheduled airlines are operating a combined fleet of 860 aircraft. In addition, airlines have placed orders for 2,056 aircraft, of which 427 have already been delivered.

He noted that the remaining aircraft will be inducted by airlines in accordance with their fleet expansion plans, market demand, business strategies and commercial considerations. The timeline for deliveries, he added, will depend on factors such as aircraft availability, supply chain conditions and other operational considerations.

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