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6 Major Airports in India: Know their History

Major Airports in India

Airports are centres for commercial air transportation. They often have the facility to store and maintain aircraft and have a control tower.

India has more than 440 airports and airstrips. The Airport Authority of India operates 126 airports of the 449 airports and airstrips. The airport network of India has promoted tourism extensively. In India, more ten airports handle international air traffic.

There are 6 major airports in India

1. Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI)

The IGI Airport is located in Palam, 14 miles from south of Delhi. It is the busiest airport in the country with six passenger terminals. It has the capacity of managing 46 million passengers and operates around 80 airlines. The major airlines of IGI is- Air India Regional, Air India, Go Air, Blue Dart Aviation, Jagson Airlines, IndiGo, Jet Airways, JetLite, SpiceJet, and Kingfisher Airlines.

2. Chennai Airport

Chennai Airport is also called Anna International Airport and holds a major part of air traffic in South India. It is located in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. The airport has three terminals – the Anna Terminal, the Kamaraj Terminal, and the Meenambakkam Terminal (for cargo). It serves several airlines including Air India Cargo, Air India, Jet Airways, Blue Dart Aviation, and Spicejet.

3. Mumbai International Airport

The Mumbai Airport is also called Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport now. Earlier, it was called Sahar International Airport. It is the main transportation hub of Mumbai City. It is among the busiest airports in southern Asia and has helped in promoting tourism extensively in this region by improving connectivity among the countries. The airport has a total of four terminals, one for overseas flights (at Sahar), one for Domestic Flights (at Santa Curz), one for general aviation and one as a cargo terminal.

4. Kolkata International Airport

Kolkata Airport is now called Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. Earlier it was called Dum Dum Airport. It is located in the capital city of West Bengal, Kolkata. The major airlines served by this airport are Air India Regional, Air India, Deccan Aviation, Blue Dart Aviation, IndiGo, DTDS, JetLite, Jet Airways, Northeast Shuttles, Kingfisher Airlines, and SpiceJet.

Conclusion

India has one of the largest airport networks across the continent. Now, airways connectivity is extended to remotest areas and Island Allies – Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands also. The network has touched the highest and difficult locations like the Himalaya state of Sikkim. The whole network of airways has promoted international tourism extensively.

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