Airports at Delhi and Mumbai see the largest number of air travellers, but in terms of passenger growth, Patna airport tops the chart with 21.5% increase during the first 9 months of FY25 compared to the same period last year, according to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) latest data.
It brings to the fore the growing aspiration and economic affluence among people in non-metro cities. The top five high passenger growth airports include Patna, Indore, Varanasi, Guwahati and Goa Mopa.
Each of these airports recorded a double-digit growth compared to metro – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru with single-digit growth. Delhi saw a negative growth between April and November 2025, primarily due to the closure of runways for renovation.
Leaving Goa Mopa, all other top four airports are run by the AAI. Among the metro airports, Chennai airport operated by AAI saw the second-highest passenger growth during the April-Nov, 2025. GMR-run Hyderabad airport saw the highest growth during the period.
The central government aims to build 350 airports across the country by the year 2047, as part of its long-term vision for a ‘Viksit Bharat’, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said recently. India currently has 162 airports, and the government intends to more than double the number over the next two decades.
Among the many factors contributing to the growth of the domestic market, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik)—a regional connectivity scheme launched on 21 October 2016—has played a pivotal role in strengthening regional air connectivity.
Regional players like Star Air and Fly91 have been targeting the Tier II/III cities’ air travellers, as people in smaller cities are opting to fly to destinations with over 7 hours of train journey. Both the airlines have been looking to expand their operations to smaller cities eyeing first-time travellers.
