Number of operational airports in country rises to 140 from 74 in 2014

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to inaugurate the Mopa International Airport in Goa on Sunday, official sources said the number of operational airports in the country has almost doubled from 74 to over 140 since he took over in 2014.

The government plans to develop and operationalise 220 airports in the next five years, they said.

Modi has laid a strong emphasis on boosting connectivity and led this initiative from the front, inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of various airports, the sources said.

He had inaugurated greenfield Donyi Polo Airport at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh in November, Deoghar Airport in July, laid the foundation stone of the Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh in November last year and inaugurated Kushinagar International Airport, a famous Buddhist site, in October last year.

The Mopa International Airport's foundation stone was also laid by the prime minister in November 2016. This will be the second airport in Goa, the first