Chandigarh, July 7 -- Nearly Rs 1,457 crore of public investment has translated into just 9,559 passengers across arrivals and departures and 474 aircraft movements at Hisar airport in 12 months between April 2025 and March 2026, making it among India's least utilised commercial airports, according to Airports Authority of India (AAI) data. An aircraft movement means one landing or take-off. With 9,559 passengers handled across 474 aircraft movements, the airport averaged only about 20 passengers per flight movement during 2025-26. The cumulative traffic since 2019-20 stands at only 10,253 passengers and 973 aircraft movements. The airport owned by the Haryana government and operated by AAI under an operations and maintenance agreement witnessed an 8.3% decline in passenger traffic during the first two months of the current financial year, with AAI data showing 1,583 passengers across arrivals and departures in April-May 2026 compared with 1,727 in the corresponding period last year. It currently has just seven scheduled departures and seven arrivals a week, operating flights to four destinations, Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ayodhya, on five days a week. According to freight data, the airport did not handle a single tonne of cargo during 2025-26. Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini had told the assembly in March 2026 that construction of an air cargo terminal at Hisar will be completed this fiscal. An IAS officer who once handled the civil aviation department told HT that Hisar airport is an expensive showpiece, a marquee project which is yet to justify its investment. "It is a case of dream selling backed by massive public investment but limited utilisation, a grand vision confronting ground realities,'' the IAS officer said. Another officer who worked in the state civil aviation sector said that Hisar has a relatively small passenger catchment and limited business travel demand. "Its proximity to Delhi meant that travellers have access to an international airport with extensive domestic and international connectivity. Airlines are reluctant to add capacity without sustained passenger demand,'' the officer said. The CM in his 2026-27 budget speech had said that air services starting from Hisar airport to Ayodhya, Chandigarh and Jaipur in 2025 benefitted around 4,000 passengers travelling to Ayodhya. The Ayodhya route thus accounted for a substantial 47% share of the airport's traffic. Of the 8,500 passengers who used Hisar airport between April 2025 and February 2026, around 4,000 travelled to Ayodhya. The Prime Minister had on April 14, 2025, flagged off a commercial flight from Hisar to Ayodhya and laid the foundation stone of the new terminal building at the airport. Saini told the assembly that air services from Hisar to Jammu and Ahmedabad will also be started. According to the Haryana Aerospace and Defence policy approved by the Council of Ministers on May 6, 2022, for five years, the projected traffic for Hisar airport is 2.1 million passengers a year with 70% of it being international. The airport, as per the aerospace policy, has a terminal building designed to handle 50 arriving and departing passengers at a time. Union minister of state for civil aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, in a July 2025 reply in Lok Sabha said the development works of the airport have been undertaken by the state government in a phased manner and an expenditure of approximately Rs 1,457 crore has been incurred under phases I and 2 of the project. The MoS said that the work related to the construction of a new terminal building and associated infrastructure was awarded in August 2024. The timely completion of airport projects is contingent upon various factors, including land acquisition, statutory clearances, removal of obstacles, and financial closure by the respective project authorities, he said. A sizeable share of budgetary allocation for the civil aviation department is spent on airport infrastructure and operations. The Rs 315 crore capital outlay for integrated aviation hub is about 63% of the department's capital allocation of Rs 495 crore and 54.94% of its total budget of Rs 573 crore for 2026-27. The government also provides viability gap funding to airlines to support regional routes and keep airfares affordable. Aviation turbine fuel sold at Hisar airport attracts a concessional rate of value added tax. This is in line with the Centre's UDAN scheme to promote regional air connectivity and allied aviation activities. Haryana civil aviation minister Vipul Goel in a response to HT's queries said 2025-26 traffic figures reflected only start-up phase of commercial operations as scheduled flights commenced after DGCA granted the aerodrome licence on March 13, 2025. Passenger and aircraft movement data largely represent the traffic build-up phase of a newly operational regional airport. Since commercial operations began in April 2025 and major infrastructure works are ongoing, the government considers the current period a development and stabilisation phase. Passenger and cargo demand will be assessed as the airport approaches full operational capability, he said. Goel said since April 2025 the airport has handled over 12,000 passengers, excluding over 150 infants. The minister said since the airport was licensed for category 4C visual flight rules (day operations only), restrictions relating to daylight operations, small terminal capacity, small/medium aircraft operations, absence of instrument approach facilities, constrained the number of flights airlines could operate. The airport is undergoing major expansion, including construction of a new integrated passenger and cargo terminal, and allied facilities by AAI. Current traffic levels should be viewed in the context of a developing airport with capacity and connectivity still being scaled up, he said. Goel said the government is engaging with airlines to expand connectivity and increase traffic. Flight frequencies and destinations will be expanded in phases, based on passenger demand, airline fleet availability, operational readiness and commercial viability, he said. "Operational capabilities have been significantly enhanced. The DVOR navigation aid has been commissioned, enabling non-precision IFR approaches, while the remaining compliance for IFR upgradation is underway. The Instrument Landing System is expected to be commissioned in August 2026, after which the airport licence is proposed to be upgraded to IFR/CAT-II ILS operations," he said. The minister said the government is in the process of leasing hangar facilities and engaging airlines, MROs, logistics operators and other aviation businesses to promote aircraft maintenance, cargo and logistics services, and employment, generating long-term economic benefits beyond passenger traffic....