India said to plan financial incentives to revive ghost airports

India is planning to subsidize airlines for operating flights to dormant airports, according to people familiar with the matter, in a bid to resurrect ghost projects and justify the billions of infrastructure spending it’s poured into them.

The subsidies build on an existing initiative, called UDAN, to boost regional connectivity and will now include airports that have remained idle despite substantial investments, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. Airlines will be offered monthly subsidy payments in return for cheaper fares to select routes — to cover the gap between regular and discounted fares. The payments will also be based on factors including number of seats sold.