The post-globalization era has witnessed a steep growth in airport infrastructure in India. The advent of low-cost airlines has opened up new growth opportunities and made air travel accessible to a large section of society. Today, millions of people are using domestic and international airports to travel long and short distances as air travel are one of the most convenient and fastest modes of travel. Airports in India are managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which works under the Ministry of Civil Aviation that is responsible for upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. India has several International airports that handle domestic and international flights.
Given Below is the List of International Airports in India
Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Assam – Also known as Guwahati International Airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport was formerly known as the ‘Borjhar Airport’. The airport is located in Borjhar, Guwahati, the city of Eastern light which is also the capital of Assam. It also serves as an Indian Air Force base. The airport is named after Gopinath Bordoloi, a renowned freedom fighter and the first chief minister of Assam after the independence of India. Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is the first international airport in north-eastern India. The airport boasts of being the busiest international airport, has two terminals and serves as the primary hub for maximum domestic flights in North-East India.
Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi – Built during World War II as an Air Force station, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) is the busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic and cargo. Located in the capital of the country, the passenger traffic of IGI has doubled since past one decade. The airport has received several awards for its top-class service. It was the 16th busiest airport in the world and had passenger traffic handling of over 63.4 million. IGI is world’s busiest airport for Airbus A320 aircraft. Plans are being made to increase airport capacity to handle 100 million passengers by 2030.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Gujarat – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport located in Ahmedabad is the eighth busiest airport in India. Established in 1937, the airport was earlier known as Ahmedabad airport but was later renamed in honour of first deputy Prime Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The airport is inspired by the design of Changi Airport in Singapore and has two main passenger terminals T1 and T2. Also, there are 2 other terminals named T3 and T4 which are used for dealing the secondary traffic. The airport has a modern international terminal which received the National Structural Steel Design and Construction Award in 2009-2010. It was awarded the most improved airport in Asia – Pacific region by the Airports Council International for 2017.
Kempegowda International Airport, Karnataka – Kempegowda International Airport is the third busiest airport in India after Delhi and Mumbai. Spread over an area of 4,000 acres the airport is located near the village Devanahalli, Bengaluru. The airport is the 34th busiest airport in Asia and handled nearly 25.04 million passengers in 2017 with over 600 aircraft movements per day. It is operated and owned by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) which is a public-private consortium. Kempegowda International Airport is Karnataka’s first fully solar-powered airport developed by CleanMax Solar. The airport has a single runway and passenger terminal that handles both domestic and international flights. It is soon going to have a second terminal which will bolster the airport’s traffic.
Mangalore International Airport, Karnataka – Mangalore International Airport, located in Mangalore, is one of the only two international airports of Karnataka (other being Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore). Previously known as Bajpe Aerodrome the airport started functioning on December 25, 1951. The international functioning began in 2006 with a flight to Dubai. The airport is the second busiest airport in Karnataka. The annual passenger traffic of Mangalore Airport in 2016 – 2017 was 1,734,810.
Cochin International Airport, Kerala – Located in the town of Kochi, Cochin International Airport is the largest airport in Kerala. It is also the fourth largest airport in India and holds a world record of being the world’s first fully solar-powered airport. The airport has 46,000 solar panels which use sunlight and convert it into energy. Cochin Airport has a traditional and sustainable architecture consisting of 3 terminals. The terminal 1 operates with International flights, terminal 2 holds domestic and terminal 3 is newest which also holds international operations.
Calicut International Airport, Kerala – Also known as Karipur Airport, the Calicut International Airport serves the cities of Kozhikode and Malappuram. It is the twelfth busiest airport in India in terms of overall passenger traffic. The airport is the third busiest in the state of Kerala. Calicut airport has 3 terminals which serve international flights to destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain.
Map of the International Airports in India
Trivandrum International Airport, Kerala – Situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, the airport is situated at a distance of 13 kilometres from Technopark. The airport serves as a gateway to international tourists of several countries including Sri Lanka and the Maldives. There are two terminals – Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 out of which Terminal 2 caters the international flights. TRV Airport is the fifth international airport of India declared in 1991 by then Prime Minister V.P. Singh. It serves 4.4 million passengers in 2017-2018. In addition to the civil operations, the Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and also the Coast Guard. It also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out pilot training activities. The airport also hosts Air India’s Narrow body maintenance, repair, and overhaul unit – MRO.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Maharashtra – Situated across the suburbs of Santacruz Vile and Sahar Village in Andheri, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is named after the 17th-century Maratha warrior king. It is the second busiest airport in India after the Delhi Airport. It is also the 14th busiest airport in Asia and 29th busiest in the world in terms of passenger traffic. It handles over 47.2 million passengers. Its passenger traffic was 48.5 million in the fiscal year of 2017-2018. In terms of cargo traffic too the airport is the second busiest in the country. It handles about 900 aircraft movement per day and handled a record of 51 movements in one hour on 16 September 2014. The airport is operated by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) which is a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India and the GVK Industries Ltd.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Maharashtra – Named after the chief architect of Indian Constitution, the Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport is situated in Nagpur city of Maharashtra. The airport handles nearly 4000 passengers per day. The airport is managed by the Airports Authority of India and also serves as a training ground for flying club.
Imphal International Airport, Manipur – Imphal Airport is also known as the Tulihal Airport or Bir Tikendrajit International Airport. It is the largest and also the second busiest airport in the north-east region of India after Guwahati Airport. Located in the capital city of Imphal, the airport is under the administrative control of the Airports Authority of India. There are two terminals at Imphal Airport out of which only one is operational.
Biju Patnaik International Airport, Odisha – Named after famous politician and former Chief Minister of the state of Odisha, Biju Patnaik, the Biju Patnaik International Airport is the fifteenth busiest airport in India. It is situated just 3km away from Bhubaneswar city. The airport has two terminals out of which the terminal 2 caters to the international operations.
Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Punjab – Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, one of the fastest-growing airports in India is named after the fourth Sikh Guru. The airport is located in Amritsar city which was also founded by Guru Ram Das. As per reports, Amritsar Airport is the best airport located in a non-metropolitan area. The airport is ranked 27th in terms of passenger traffic.
Jaipur International Airport, Rajasthan – Jaipur Airport, which is located in the southern suburb of Sanganer, is situated 13 km away from Jaipur city centre. The airport was declared as the World’s Best Airport in the category of 2 to 5 million passengers per annum in the year 2015 to 2016.
Coimbatore International Airport, Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore International Airport, also known as Peelamedu International Airport, is the second largest airport in Tamil Nadu. It is the 18th busiest airport in terms of total aircraft movement. The airport handles a passenger traffic of 1.5 million annually.
Chennai Airport, Tamil Nadu – Chennai Airport is the fourth busiest airport in India with respect to passenger traffic after Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. It is the 47th busiest in Asia. The airport handles nearly 400 aircraft movements every day. The airport serves as the regional headquarter of the Airports Authority of India for South India. The airport handles over 20 million passengers in the fiscal year 2017-2018.
Tiruchirapalli International Airport, Tamil Nadu – Established by the British during World War II, Tiruchirapalli International Airport is the third-largest airport in the state of Tamil Nadu. Also, it is the 10th busiest airport in India that handles an average of 2200 to 2500 international passengers every day. The airport was declared as an International airport in 2012.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Telangana – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, located in Hyderabad, Telangana, is the sixth busiest airport in India in terms of traffic, cargo traffic and also passenger traffic. The airport has received numerous awards including the prestigious Golden Peacock Business Excellence Award 2017. The airport received a five-star rating on Health and Safety by British Safety Council. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has also featured among the top 3 airports of the world for the 7th time in a row for ASQ (Airport Service Quality).
Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Uttar Pradesh – Situated in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, the airport is named after Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth Prime Minister of India. The airport is the second largest and also the busiest in North and Central India. It is the 11th busiest airport in the country. Also known as Lucknow Airport, the airport has been conferred the title of “Best Airport” by the Airports Authority of India.
Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Uttar Pradesh – Located in Babatpur, nearly 18 km north-west of Varanasi, the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport provides all the necessary facilities for the convenience of the passengers. The airport was given an international status by the Union Cabinet in October 2012. The airport has witnessed a 38.5 % growth in passenger traffic in the year 2016-2017 from 1,383,962 in 2015-2016 to 1,916,454. The airport has three separate terminals – International, Domestic, and a Cargo.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, West Bengal – Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, which was earlier named Dum Dum Airport, is also regarded as Kolkata Airport in present times. The airport is the largest hub for air traffic in the eastern parts of the country. The airport handled nearly 20 million passengers in the year 2016-2017 which makes it the fifth busiest airport in India.
International Airports of India at a Glance
| Airport | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport | Guwahati | Assam |
| Indira Gandhi International Airport | New Delhi | Delhi |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport | Ahmedabad | Gujarat |
| Kempegowda International Airport | Bengaluru | Karnataka |
| Mangaluru International Airport | Mangaluru | Karnataka |
| Cochin International Airport | Kochi | Kerala |
| Calicut International Airport | Kozhikode | Kerala |
| Trivandrum International Airport | Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport | Mumbai | Maharashtra |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport | Nagpur | Maharashtra |
| Imphal International Airport | Imphal | Manipur |
| Biju Patnaik International Airport | Bhubaneswar | Odisha |
| Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport | Amritsar | Punjab |
| Jaipur International Airport | Jaipur | Rajasthan |
| Coimbatore International Airport | Coimbatore | Tamil Nadu |
| Chennai Airport | Chennai | Tamil Nadu |
| Tiruchirapalli International Airport | Tiruchirapalli | Tamil Nadu |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Airport | Hyderabad | Telangana |
| Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport | Kolkata | West Bengal |
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