Airlines reluctant to fly to many airports: Ashok Gajapathi Raju

Airlines are reluctant to fly to many airports despite providing adequate infrastructure there, even as 32 airports have remained non-functional, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said today.

"Airlines are like a horse. We can take them to the water but can't force them to drink," he said in Lok Sabha replying to demands for regular air connectivity to Mysore and some other places.

Raju said even though adequate infrastructure is in place, airlines are not flying to many airports in the country. There are 32 airports, under the Airports Authority of India, which are non-functional.

"Our constant effort is to increase the number of airports and regional connectivity," he said during Question Hour.

Replying another question, the Minister said Civil Aviation Ministry has granted in-principle approval to 15 new airports including Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Hasan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Kannur in Kerala, Durgapur in West Bengal, Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh and Pakyong in Sikkim.