The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a target of making operational 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 air routes under the UDAN scheme. Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said domestic flight services from Bilaspur town in Chhattisgarh will begin from March 1 under the regional connectivity scheme.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has identified and approved 78 new routes under the first phase of Ude Deshka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) 4.0. Seventy-eight new routes have been approved and the Airports Authority of India, the implementing agency, is in the process of awarding them to selected airline operators (SAOs).

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted exemptions to 13 consortia to operate drones on an experimental basis, without the need for unique identification numbers and operator permits, till 30 September 2020.

The Government of India plans to construct second airport in major cities of the country. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is requesting state governments to reserve land for building the second airport in major cities. It is estimated to have at least 2,000 acres of land reserved for the construction of the airport.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is working on the idea of allowing passengers to check-in based on biometric authentication.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to set up Greenfield airport at Dagadarthi

Plans to set up 50 regional airports over the next three years to enhance air transportation. Ten of these airports would be ready by the end of this year. The cost of each of these airports would be about Rs. 50-100 crore.

The aviation ministry has signed an MoU with Maharashtra Government to facilitate regional air connectivity by making it affordable by enacting different concessions offered by the Union government. The work on Shirdi airport is on and commercial operations are likely by November 2016. The other airports that will be ready include the ones at Sholapur, Jalgaon, Gondia, Nanded, Akola and Kolhapur.

A greenfield airport is planned near Bhiwadi in Alwar district, Rajasthan. Site clearance was accorded subject to certain conditions, was given in November 2015. Detailed Project Report (DPR) would lead to further development once the economic viability is established.