₹10 chai, ₹20 samosas at UDAN Yatri Café now at these 24 Indian airports: Flyers finally get relief from overpriced food

Anyone who has ever taken a flight knows the familiar sting of airport dining. You walk into the terminal, wait for your boarding announcement, and naturally crave a quick snack. Then you see the bill.

For years, grabbing a simple cup of coffee or a quick bite before a flight meant paying ridiculously inflated prices. Travellers have constantly voiced their frustration over this open secret of the aviation world.

But relief is finally here.

A major shift is happening across Indian terminals - and it promises to save your wallet from those pre-flight hunger pangs.

Enter the UDAN Yatri Café

A brand-new, passenger-centric initiative is quietly taking over terminal food courts. It’s called the UDAN Yatri Café.

Operating under a fresh government push, these outlets are focused on one thing: providing affordable, pocket-friendly food and beverages to flyers. The days of paying premium prices for basic items may finally be coming to an end.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu recently highlighted the rapid expansion of these cafés, calling it a step towards making air travel more comfortable and accessible for everyone.

The goal is simple - good food, without the shocking price tag.

The magic numbers: ₹10 and ₹20

So, what does “affordable” actually look like inside an airport?

At the UDAN Yatri Café, a cup of chai costs just ₹10. Yes, inside an airport.

If you’re more of a coffee person, that’s priced at ₹20. And it doesn’t stop there.

You can grab a hot samosa for ₹20. Even sweets are available at the same price point. It’s a complete shift from the usual airport pricing, bringing almost street-style affordability right to your boarding gate.

Now operating at 24 airports

This isn’t a small pilot project. The cafés are already operational at 24 airports across India.

From major metro cities like Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad to busy hubs like Jaipur, Lucknow, Pune, and Ahmedabad - the reach is wide.

Travellers in Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Jammu can also find them, along with southern cities like Mangaluru, Trivandrum, and Coimbatore.

The list doesn’t stop there. These cafés are also open in Agartala, Gwalior, Varanasi, Indore, Patna, Rajkot, Bhubaneswar, Surat, Hollongi, and Vijayawada.

Democratising the skies

To understand why this is happening, you have to go back to 2016, when Narendra Modi launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN).

The idea was simple - make air travel accessible to the common person.

Now, that vision is going beyond just flight tickets. By making food at airports affordable too, the government is trying to ensure that the entire travel experience doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.

So the next time you’re at the airport, skip the overpriced coffee counter.

Your ₹10 chai might just be waiting around the corner.