New Delhi, Jan. 21 -- Civil aviation minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu often highlights India's rapid pace of airport creation-one new airport every 45-50 days. The claim checks out. Official data show India added 89 airports over the past 11 years.

The bigger question, however, is whether this expansion is sustainable.

A Mint analysis of 78 airports built, upgraded or connected since 2017 shows that nearly 60% recorded fewer than 10,000 domestic passenger footfalls a month on average in 2025. Aircraft movement was also thin, with close to the same proportion seeing fewer than five domestic flights a day. By comparison, the median Indian airport handles about 24,000 passengers a month and around seven aircraft movements daily.

This is not to...