Karnataka working on 'template model' for setting up more airports: K Rammohan Naidu

New Delhi: Days after the Karnataka government sent a proposal to the Centre seeking permission to set up a second airport in Bengaluru, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday said that the government is planning to put in place a "template model" for setting up more airports to meet the increasing air traffic and aircraft fleet.

“The ministry is actively working on creating a template model where we can have different kinds of airports. The idea is to have different categories of airports, including those for cargo and Flying Training Organisations (FTOs),” he told reporters.

India, one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets, currently has 159 operational airports while domestic airlines have placed orders for over 1,700 planes.

The Karnataka government sent a proposal to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) identifying three places around Bengaluru for setting up a second airport to meet the growing demand.

To a query on whether more airports are set to be privatised, the minister said privatisation is a separate issue, and the efforts are to create more airports.

Noting that land availability is a major challenge in many places to set up airports, he said that the government is trying to ensure air connectivity to all regions and wherever possible, we can taper down the land requirement... (for instance like having) a small airport where we can operate an ATR.”

Domestic air passenger traffic stood at little over 16.13 crore in 2024 while the current fleet of domestic airlines is over 800 planes.

In response to queries related to certain recent incidents involving Air India, Naidu said whenever there are issues, those are discussed, and feedback is also sought from the airline concerned.

Naidu said that India needed 30,000 pilots in the next 15-20 years as domestic airlines were expanding their network in the days to come. Presently, there are 6,000-7,000 working pilots in India.

Indian airlines have placed orders for more than 1,700 aircraft and currently, there are over 800 planes, Naidu said.