1. The 100-Airport Goal by 2036
The centerpiece of the new strategy is the goal to develop 100 new airports by 2036. This announcement, made by Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu in September 2026, is part of the 'Modified UDAN' scheme, a 10-year plan running from 2026 to 2036. The plan builds
on significant recent growth, which saw India's airport count increase from 74 in 2014 to 166 in 2026. This next phase represents a major acceleration, aiming to add a massive number of new airports in just a decade to meet surging demand for air travel.
2. Connecting Small-Town India under UDAN
This expansion isn't just about mega-hubs. The driving force behind the 100-airport plan is the regional connectivity scheme known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik). The focus is squarely on bringing air travel to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, remote regions, the Himalayan states, and islands like Lakshadweep and the Andamans. The government sees this as a response to growing demand from all corners of the country, where communities are increasingly asking for air connectivity. The 'Modified UDAN' scheme, approved in March 2026, is designed to make this a reality by developing existing unserved or underserved airstrips into functional airports.
3. An Investment of ₹30,000 Crore
Building this infrastructure requires significant capital. The government has stated it plans to invest approximately ₹30,000 crore (around 300 billion rupees) over the next ten years to build these 100 new airports. The funding is part of the broader 'Modified UDAN' scheme, which has a total approved outlay of ₹28,840 crore for the period between the 2026-27 and 2035-36 financial years. Within this, a specific amount of over ₹12,000 crore is earmarked just for the development of these 100 aerodromes over eight years, highlighting the financial commitment to expanding regional infrastructure.
4. Strengthening the Hub-and-Spoke Model
Beyond just building new airports, the strategy involves better integrating them into the national and international network. A key part of this is expanding the 'hub-and-spoke' model. This system allows passengers from smaller, regional airports to seamlessly connect through larger Indian hubs for onward international flights. Ahmedabad was recently inaugurated as the country's third such hub, following Varanasi and Amritsar. The plan is to extend this model to 22 more airports, which will help ensure that the new regional airports are effectively connected and that passengers from smaller towns have easier access to global travel without complex, self-managed transfers.
5. Part of a Broader 'Vision 2040'
The 2036 plan is a significant part of a larger, long-term strategy for Indian aviation known as 'Vision 2040'. This broader vision aims to handle over a billion passengers annually and increase the total number of operational airports in the country to around 200 by 2040. To accommodate this growth, India's commercial aircraft fleet is projected to grow to over 2,300 planes. This long-term roadmap also includes initiatives for paperless travel (Digi Yatra), developing aircraft maintenance and manufacturing capabilities within India, and potentially establishing multiple airports for major metro areas like Delhi and Mumbai.
