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The Maryada Purushottam Shriram International airport in Ayodhya is expected to be completed by October, ahead of  the inauguration of the Ram temple.
The temple is likely to be inaugurated in January of next year, while commercial flights are expected to commence in November or early December 2023 from Ayodhya.
The new airport, with a development cost of approximately Rs 350 crores, will be suitable for the operation of A-320/B-737 type of aircraft.
The development work includes an extension of the existing runway for the operation of Code -C type of aircraft,  terminal building, ATC tower,  fire station, car parking, new apron for parking 3  code ‘C’ type of aircraft and other infrastructure.
The new terminal building, with an area of 6,250 sqm, is equipped to accommodate 300 passengers during peak hours. Passenger facilities include 8 check-in counters, 3 conveyor belts, car parking for seventy-five cars, and bus parking.
In its initial stages, the new airport will connect the temple town with New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
Later, more flights and destinations will be added, thus paving the way for the temple town to be transformed into a big pilgrim centre of north India. Ayodhya, the birth place of Bhagwan Ram, is a holy place and has immense potential to boost pilgrimage.
The airport is equipped to handle commercial flights in different weather conditions and the construction of the runaway, as well as the air traffic control tower is complete. The necessary groundwork encompassing civil, electrical, IT will be completed by October end.
The frequency and the slots of flights to and from Ayodhya will decided by the Airports Authority of India. While the 400 acres required for the first phase has already been acquired, the remaining has been demarcated for acquisition to feed phase II and III of the project.
Currently, Ayodhya has a small airstrip to handle non-commercial and chartered flights. However, despite the absence of a proper airport, it witnessed an upsurge in the number of pilgrims after the construction of the temple started in August 2020.
Recently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that once the temple was opened for devotees, the pilgrim flow to the town could reach an annual mark of 10 crore. During the UP Global Investors’ Summit 2023, the Japan-based Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI Group) signed an MoU to invest Rs 7,200 crore in launching hotels in prominent tourist centres such as Agra, Ayodhya, and Varanasi.
Meanwhile a string of marquee hotels, including both luxury and budget categories have made a beeline for projects in Ayodhya. More than 25 hoteliers have already registered with portal of UP tourism  and nearly two dozen more companies to follow suit.
Currently, there are about 18 quality hotels in Ayodhya with a combined inventory of 600 rooms, the demand of which is expected to witness a sharp jump once the temple is inaugurated.
Interestingly, the planned transformation of Ayodhya is estimated to cost Rs 30,000 crore to the exchequer under ‘Ayodhya Vision 2047’ theme. These funds are targeted to be invested in about 260 projects pertaining to tourism, aviation, infrastructure, housing, medical, energy, culture, urban development, and transport.