India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved the declaration of five airports in the country as international airports, report said.

The airports include Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport, Lucknow; Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport Varanasi and airports at Tiruchirapalli, Mangalore and Coimbatore.

The move will fulfill the demand of state governments and offer improved international connectivity, wider choice of services at competitive cost to air travelers, reports said.

All these airports are capable of handling medium capacity long range type of aircraft and are also equipped with facilities for night operations.

Union Corporate Affairs & Power Minister Dr M Veerappa Moily said he was very pleased with the Cabinet decision approving the proposal of declaring Mangalore as an international airport. He said he has been keenly pursuing the matter for a couple of years.