New Delhi

Airports Authority of India Regional Executive Director (Northern Region) Ajay Kumar Kapur on Wednesday said North India continues to be a major hub for the country’s aviation sector, handling nearly 30 per cent of India’s passenger traffic, while several airport expansion projects are underway to meet rising demand.

In an interview with ANI, Kapur said the northern region accounts for over 25 per cent of India’s total air traffic and around 26 per cent of aircraft movements annually.

“The Northern region is a powerhouse of India’s civil aviation sector. We handle this traffic every year,” he said.

Kapur identified dense winter fog as one of the biggest operational challenges for airports in the region, especially during early morning flight schedules.

“On foggy days, several flights get cancelled and later clubbed together, leading to overcrowding in airport terminals. We need to manage the combined load during foggy days,” he said.

According to Kapur, AAI has implemented multiple Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to reduce disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions.

“We have several SOPs in place for foggy days. Early morning flights are affected the most during foggy conditions,” he added.

He also highlighted the use of the Central Air Traffic Flow Management (CATFM) system to streamline aircraft movement and reduce operational bottlenecks during periods of low visibility.

On infrastructure development, Kapur said new terminal buildings are under construction at airports in Jammu, Leh, Jodhpur and Udaipur.

“Jodhpur is almost ready and is expected to be inaugurated in July,” he said.

He further noted that the new terminal building at Varanasi airport is likely to be completed by December this year or early January next year. The current terminal there will later be converted for international flight operations.

Among other major projects, AAI is developing a greenfield airport in Kota, while a new terminal at Agra airport is expected to be completed by 2028.

Discussing regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme, Kapur said the Delhi-Hisar-Ayodhya route has already become operational.

He also addressed the status of airports in Aligarh, Azamgarh and Kushinagar, which are currently non-operational.

“The only constraint at present is the shortage of suitable smaller aircraft in India. We are fully ready to support the airlines. Whenever the airlines start their flights, operations will commence immediately,” Kapur said.

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He added that discussions with airlines regarding operations at Kushinagar Airport are already underway and expressed confidence about its future potential.