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Key Points
An RTI filed by India Today reveals that six of seven Uttar Pradesh airports launched after 2021 have suspended scheduled commercial flights, with Ayodhya as the only exception.
Airports in Kushinagar, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Shravasti, Moradabad and Aligarh have seen services halted within months of inauguration, citing low demand, operational and technical challenges.
Established or upgraded airports such as Kanpur and Agra continue to report steady passenger growth, highlighting a sharp contrast in viability.
A Right to Information (RTI) application filed by India Today has revealed that six of the seven airports launched in Uttar Pradesh after 2021 have already seen scheduled commercial flights suspended. The report, published on 23 February 2026, cites data obtained from Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the Regional Connectivity Scheme - UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).
The report shows that only Ayodhya Airport remains operational among the newly launched facilities. The remaining airports – Kushinagar, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Shravasti, Moradabad and Aligarh – have either suspended services or seen no regular commercial flights for months.
Kushinagar International Airport was inaugurated on 20 October 2021, with scheduled flights beginning on 26 November 2021. The airport initially recorded strong activity, reaching a peak of 54 scheduled flights in March 2022.
However, passenger numbers declined steadily through 2023. By November 2023, when scheduled services were suspended, only six flights were operating. RTI data shows that from late 2023 through 2024 and 2025, scheduled flights dropped to zero for most months, indicating a complete halt in regular passenger services.
The total construction cost of Kushinagar International Airport stood at approximately ₹327.30 crore, funded jointly by AAI and the UP government. Operational expenditure continued even after flights stopped, with ₹719.89 lakh spent in 2023–24 and ₹759.35 lakh in 2024–25, according to RTI figures.
Chitrakoot Airport, inaugurated on 10 March 2024, began operations with a 19-seater aircraft connecting it to Lucknow. Initially operating twice weekly and later four days a week, flights were suspended on 16 December 2024.
Built at a cost of ₹146 crore, the airport currently employs around 70 personnel, including about 40 CISF security staff. Airport Director Alok Singh said flights were expected to resume, but operational challenges, including visibility concerns, had delayed restart.
Azamgarh Airport, operationalized in March 2024, saw flights operate to and from Lucknow until 23 November 2024. Commercial services were discontinued due to poor visibility conditions, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The airport was constructed at a cost of ₹29.57 crore, with some reports going as high as ₹108 crore. Initial fares ranged from ₹1,100 to ₹1,500. Despite early interest, passenger numbers declined as many travellers preferred road travel via the Purvanchal Expressway.
At Shravasti Airport, inaugurated on 10 March 2024, flights to Lucknow were launched at fares as low as ₹523. However, operations were suspended on 24 December 2024 due to low passenger turnout, as Lucknow Airport is situated approximately 170 km away and accessible by road in around three hours. The construction cost of the airport has not been made public yet, though some reports estimate it to be around ₹29 crore.
Moradabad Airport was operationalized on 10 August 2024, with three weekly flights to and from Lucknow. It has been closed for commercial services since November 2024, six months after its inauguration. The airport lacks an Instrument Landing System (ILS), preventing landing under low visibility conditions.
The airport cost approximately ₹21 crore to develop according to pre-construction figures. Later reports have put the cost as high as ₹123 crore including maintenance, though this has not been verified.
Aligarh Airport began commercial operations on 10 March 2024, with flights to Lucknow, Azamgarh and Chitrakoot. Monthly traffic peaked in August 2024, with 258 passengers flying that month. But this came down to just 26 by December 2024. Operations were discontinued within months of launch.
The cost of construction was estimated to be ₹29.40 crore.
In contrast, Kanpur Airport has demonstrated steady growth. The newly developed civil enclave was inaugurated on 26 May 2023, with passenger services starting on 7 June 2023. RTI data confirms that the airport remains operational.
Passenger traffic at Kanpur increased significantly following the opening of the upgraded terminal, which is nearly 16 times larger than the previous building. From June to December 2023, the airport handled 1,70,214 passengers. In 2024, the figure rose to 2,89,577, and in 2025 it reached 3,64,075.
The civil enclave’s construction cost was ₹122.14 crore, with an additional ₹1.09 crore spent on maintenance till September 2025.
Agra Airport, though not part of the post-2021 new airport list, recorded consistent traffic in 2025, handling 1,19,868 arrivals and 1,19,890 departures, taking total passenger movement to 2,39,758.
The RTI findings reflect broader concerns about the sustainability of regional connectivity initiatives under the UDAN scheme. According to reports, 11 airports launched under UDAN have seen services disrupted or suspended due to weather issues, underwhelming footfall, airline disinterest and technical hurdles.
FlyBig, the only airline operating at several of these airports, reduced weekly flights from 176 in the 2025 summer schedule to 58 in the winter schedule, marking a nearly 67% decline.
Geographical proximity to established airports appears to be a contributing factor. For example, Prayagraj is 101 km from Chitrakoot, Gorakhpur 51 km from Kushinagar, and Agra 90 km from Aligarh. These short distances, combined with established rail and road networks, have made air travel less attractive in several cases.
With multiple airports under construction or proposed in districts such as Meerut, Lalitpur, Sonbhadra, Lakhimpur Kheri and Noida, the India Today investigation highlights the need for careful demand assessment and long-term viability planning in the state’s aviation expansion strategy.
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