Delhi and Mumbai airports have the highest number of air travelers, but in terms of passenger growth, Patna airport tops the chart with a 21.5% increase in the first 9 months of FY25 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

It foregrounds the growing aspiration and economic prosperity among people in non-metropolitan cities. The top five airports with high passenger growth include Patna, Indore, Varanasi, Guwahati and Goa Mopa.

Each of these airports registered double-digit growth compared to metros: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore saw single-digit growth. Delhi experienced negative growth between April and November 2025, mainly due to runway closures for renovation.

Leaving Goa Mopa, the other four major airports are managed by the AAI. Among metro airports, the AAI-operated Chennai airport saw the second highest passenger growth during April-November 2025. The GMR-operated Hyderabad airport saw the highest growth during the period.

The central government aims to build 350 airports across the country by 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 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 October 21, 2016, has played a pivotal role in strengthening regional air connectivity.

Regional players such as Star Air and Fly91 have targeted air travelers from tier II/III cities, as residents of smaller cities opt to fly to destinations more than 7 hours away by train. Both airlines have been looking to expand their operations to smaller cities by targeting first-time travelers.