Waiting for another take-off: Dealing with U.P.’s stalled airports

Soon after Vaibhav Tripathi came across a social media post about a flight service between Lucknow and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, he decided to fly to their hometown with his mother, who had never traveled by air before. It was a birthday present; It was a token of gratitude for the years he spent doing odd jobs, including working as an agricultural laborer, to finance his education at the Industrial Training Institute.

“Since I now earn ₹25,000 a month, I thought of flying him to our home in Azamgarh on his birthday because as per the social media post, the charges were between ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per person,” said the 32-year-old, who works as a refrigeration and air conditioning technician in a private firm in Lucknow.