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Around one-fifth of 143 airports handling only domestic flights recorded an average of two or fewer aircraft movements a day between April and November 2025, according to data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The figures have prompted aviation experts to question both the viability of the infrastructure and the effectiveness of the government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS), designed to link unserved and underserved routes and bring
air travel within reach of the masses.
As many as 29 such airports either saw no domestic flight movements at all during the eight-month period or managed no more than 480 flights, an average of just two movements a day.
If the bar is raised only marginally, to around three aircraft movements a day or 720 flights over the period, the number of such airports swells to 40.
The data reveals that five airports — Tezpur, Azamgarh, Pakyong, Shravasti and Kanpur (civil) — did not record a single domestic flight movement during the eight months.
In November alone, nine airports saw no domestic flights whatsoever, many of them facilities built under the RCS umbrella.The numbers are stark. Shimla, a state capital and popular tourist destination, saw flight movements halve between April and November compared with the previous year, logging just 385 movements, effectively one flight on many days.
Kushinagar, inaugurated with much fanfare in 2021 to bolster connectivity to the Buddhist circuit, has all but gone silent, registering only six aircraft movements in eight months of the current financial year, down from 44 flights last year.
The lack of supporting infrastructure meant much of the potential traffic was diverted to nearby Gorakhpur, which serves the same market.
Kota, a trading hub and nationally known centre for coaching institutes, has also delivered a lacklustre performance despite its apparent potential. Flight movements at the old airport halved to just 30 flights over 240 days. The government’s clearance of a proposal for a new greenfield airport may yet alter that trajectory.
Moradabad, popular for brassware, managed only six flights in the last eight months, a fall of more than 92 per cent from the previous year, hit by weak passenger demand and the limited appeal of turboprop aircraft.
Ludhiana, one of India’s major industrial cities, averaged just one flight movement a day this year, significantly lower than last year, constrained by a limited route network, the small size of the airport and delays in the construction of a new civilian airport.
