Ghost airport of Rajasthan

India has spent more than $50 million since 2009 on eight airports that do not receive scheduled flights - white elephants that are a reminder of the pitfalls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he bets on an infrastructure drive to fuel growth.

India's main hubs, meanwhile, are bursting at the seams, slowing airlines' ability to expand in a vast country that’s home to about one-sixth of the world’s population.

"They (the government) need to realise it's not a case of 'build the airport and we will come'," said Sanjiv Kapoor, chief operating officer at SpiceJet Ltd. The private sector airline last year stopped flying to a new airport in Mysore, in the southern state of Karnakata, because of insufficient demand.

India's ghost terminals were built largely by the previous government, which planned 200 'no frills' airports, encouraged by rising air travel and the need to connect far-flung regions.

The civil aviation ministry declined to comment on whether Modi's government would stick with the 200-airport growth plan. But the incentive to grow in less-developed regions remains: on August 18, Modi pledged 27 billion rupees ($408 million) for four new airports in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar, which holds elections this year.

Across India, more than half of the 100-odd domestic-only airports operated by Airports Authority of India (AAI) have not seen a scheduled flight this year, official data shows, though some are older airports designed primarily for chartered planes.

The AAI did not respond to requests for comment.

The rush to build comes as passenger numbers grow 20 percent a year, to 38.8 million in the first half of 2015. That leaves India's major airports, which account for four-fifths of traffic, saturated.

In the huge sunlit expanse of Jaisalmer's new arrivals lounge, two disused baggage conveyor belts gathered dust earlier this month as pigeons nested in the roof. A group of cleaners sat next to the taxiway listening to music on their mobile phones.

"You should come here on your own. It's scary," said the airport's chief engineer.

S.K. Singh, the local AAI director, defended the airport, saying Jaisalmer - famed for its huge sand-coloured 12th century fort - has a growing tourist industry, and the nearest functioning airport is 290 km away.