The Uttar Pradesh government and the Airport Authority of India Limited (AAI) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade airports in Uttar Pradesh for commercial purposes.
There are regular domestic flights to Allahabad and Agra, where the airports are operational from Bamrauli Air Force and Kheria Air Force stations respectively.
Although the Delhi-Kanpur-Kolkata flights were launched two years ago, they have been discontinued at Kanpur Airport at Chakeri Air Force station because of poor commercial viability.
Meerut's BR Ambedkar Airport at Partapur is used only for unscheduled flights. There are also airports in Moradabad in West UP and Faizabad in East UP, but they aren't big enough to handle commercial flights.
Bareilly Airport at Trishul Air Force Base is open for only government work. Same is the case with Saharanpur Airport at Sarsawa Airbase, which is managed by the Indian Air Force and urgently needs expansion to handle commercial flights.
The decision of the Centre to upgrade the airports has infused hope in people.