PIB dismisses report on India's financial plan to revive ghost airports, calls it 'baseless'

Press Information Bureau’s Fact Check ( PIB Fact Check) unit has categorically denied a media report claiming that India plans to offer financial incentives to airlines for reviving dormant or underutilised airports, calling the story “fake, baseless, and factually incorrect.”

In a post published late Wednesday night, PIB Fact Check dismissed the report — originally carried by Bloomberg — which had quoted anonymous sources saying that the government was preparing a new subsidy framework to support operations at idle airports.

“An article claims that India is planning to roll out financial incentives to revive dormant airports. This claim is completely fake, baseless, and factually incorrect. No such proposal is under consideration by the Government of India,” PIB said in an official statement on X (formerly Twitter).

An article by @bsindia claims that India is planning to roll out financial incentives to revive dormant airports.#PIBFactCheck

❌ This claim is completely fake, baseless, and factually incorrect.

✅ No such proposal is under consideration by the Government of India.

🔍For… pic.twitter.com/UdYodS305p

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) November 12, 2025

The Bloomberg report, titled “India said to plan financial incentives to revive ghost airports,” had earlier quoted unnamed sources as saying that the Civil Aviation Ministry was preparing a plan to subsidize airlines that operate flights from idle airports as part of an expanded regional connectivity initiative.

According to the report, the proposed plan would have built upon the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme — launched in 2016 to boost regional air connectivity — and included new financial incentives for routes connecting airports that have remained inactive despite heavy public investment. Bloomberg also reported that the proposed changes included a possible auction-based approach or direct subsidy options for airlines, depending on route demand and fare structures.

The report had cited examples of several recently inaugurated airports such as Azamgarh and Muzaffarpur, which reportedly have minimal or zero passenger traffic despite having completed facilities.

However, the PIB has made it clear that no such financial incentive plan is currently being discussed or considered by the government.

The UDAN scheme, under which airlines receive limited subsidies to connect underserved routes, has so far facilitated over 649 new air routes and operationalized 93 airfields, according to official data.

PIB urged the public and media outlets to “rely only on official sources for verified updates.”