India to have 35 new airports by 2010

By 2010 India will have 35 new airports to cope with the rising demand for air travel. India currently has 133 airports that include 14 international terminals. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST), V P Agarwal, member (planning), Airports Authority of India (AAI), said that AAI would invest Rs40,000 crore in the next five years on developing airport infrastructure. He said the growth of low-fare airlines and cheaper airfares would encourage road and rail passengers to shift to air travel. To cope with rising demand the AAI had planned the rapid vacation of runways and interconnecting all major airports with city centres by metro trains.