Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has registered record-breaking growth in air passenger and cargo traffic. Cities like Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj become the engines of UP’s air flight, speed will increase further from Noida Airport.
Uttar Pradesh is now taking a new flight of development not only on the roads but also in the sky. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state’s air connectivity has touched new heights. More than 60 lakh passengers traveled through UP airports between April and August 2025, which is 14.6 percent more than the previous year.
Uttar Pradesh’s share in the country’s total air traffic has reached 3.52 percent — meaning now one in every 30 air passengers is flying from UP. This is not just a matter of figures, but a living picture of Chief Minister Yogi’s ‘Connected UP, Prosperous UP’ vision. With the opening of Noida International Airport, this flight is going to go even higher.
UP’s air travel journey: growth chart from 2017 to 2025
While only 59.97 lakh air passengers traveled from the state in 2016-17, this number will reach 142.28 lakh in 2024-25. These included 129.29 lakh domestic and 12.99 lakh international passengers. During this period, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of UP was 10.1 percent, which is one of the strongest recovery in the aviation sector of the country.
While this number had fallen to 48.35 lakh during Covid, it has doubled in just two years — showing how effective the Yogi government’s aviation policy has been. A jump of 25.9% was seen in the number of air passengers in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
Also read: “NaMo Kendra” turned out to be a fraud! A fake institute was running in the name of PM Modi in Aligarh.
Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Varanasi: Star performers of UP’s Udaan
The religious and historical cities of the state contributed significantly to this growth.
- The number of passengers in Varanasi increased from 30 lakh to 40 lakh.
- The number of passengers in Prayagraj increased from 6 lakh to 10.77 lakh.
- While 2 lakh passengers traveled at Ayodhya Airport in 2023-24, this figure crossed 11 lakh in 2024-25.
- Gorakhpur also recorded an increase of 27.6 percent.
This shows that religious tourism and new connectivity have given new heights to the air growth of Uttar Pradesh.
Tremendous flight even in cargo traffic
UP has also strengthened its hold in the field of trade and export through air routes. The state’s air cargo recorded a CAGR of 19.1% from FY2016-17 to FY2024-25. It increased from 5.89 thousand metric tons to 28.36 thousand metric tons.
Lucknow airport handled 22,099 metric tonnes of cargo, while Prayagraj and Varanasi recorded a growth of 50% and 27.7% respectively. Record growth was recorded in Kanpur (165%) and Agra (247%) in April-August 2025, which proves that the industrial clusters of UP have now become a part of the global supply chain.
Yogi government’s vision is becoming reality
According to state Civil Aviation Director Ishan Pratap Singh, “Air connectivity is not just a means of travel, but an engine of employment, investment and tourism.” Under the guidance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, new airports like Ayodhya, Kushinagar and Jewar (Noida International Airport) are developing rapidly.
After the opening of Jewar Airport, Uttar Pradesh will become the largest aviation hub of Northern India. In this sequence, the government is working on many new air connectivity projects, which will make UP the flying capital of the country in the coming time.
Also read: Shameful act in Etawah! Dalit youth beaten like a cock in the middle of the road, video goes viral