Airports: India's Central Territory?

Airports in India are governed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. The AAI is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in the country. It manages a total of 137 airports, including international, customs, domestic, and civil enclave airports. While the Indian government encourages state governments to participate in the development of airport infrastructure, the AAI board, which includes a chairman and five whole-time members, is appointed by the central government.

Airports in India by state or union territory

India is a federal constitutional republic consisting of 28 states and 8 union territories. Airports in India are recognised by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which categorises them by state or union territory.

Airports in the States of India

• Andhra Pradesh: Sri Sathya Sai Airport, Tirupati International Airport, Vijayawada International Airport, and Visakhapatnam International Airport.
• Arunachal Pradesh: Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Jay Prakash Narayan Airport, and Swami Vivekananda Airport.
• Assam: Airports in Assam include those in the cities of Dhalbhumgarh, Jorhat, and Tezpur.
• Bihar: No specific airport was mentioned, but Bihar has airports in the cities of Gaya and Patna.
• Chandigarh: Chandigarh Airport.
• Chhattisgarh: Bilasa Devi Kevat Airport, Manohar International Airport, and airports in Raipur and Jagdalpur.
• Delhi: Indira Gandhi International Airport.
• Goa: Dabolim Airport and Mopa Airport.
• Gujarat: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Dholera International Airport, Rajkot International Airport, Surat International Airport, and Maharaja Agrasen International Airport.
• Haryana: Airports in Haryana include those in the cities of Hisar, Karnal, Bhiwani, and Jhajjar.
• Himachal Pradesh: Bhuntar Airport (Kullu-Manali Airport).
• Jharkhand: Birsa Munda Airport, Deoghar Airport, and Gaya Airport.
• Karnataka: Kempegowda International Airport, Mangalore International Airport, Kannur International Airport, and HAL Airport.
• Kerala: Cochin International Airport, Kannur International Airport, Kozhikode International Airport, Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, and Calicut Airport.
• Ladakh: Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport.
• Lakshadweep: Agatti Airport.
• Madhya Pradesh: Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport, Gwalior Airport, Jabalpur Airport, Khajuraho Airport, and Indore Airport.
• Maharashtra: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Airport, Nashik International Airport, Navi Mumbai International Airport, Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport, and Purandare Airport.
• Manipur: Bir Tikendrajit International Airport.
• Meghalaya: Umroi Airport.
• Mizoram: Lengpui Airport.
• Odisha: Biju Patnaik International Airport, Veer Surendra Sai Airport, and Puri International Airport.
• Punjab: Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Adampur Airport, Pathankot Airport, and Halwara Air Force Station.
• Rajasthan: Jaipur International Airport, Jodhpur Airport, Udaipur Airport, and Bikaner Airport.
• Sikkim: Pakyong Airport.
• Tamil Nadu: Chennai International Airport, Chennai Greenfield International Airport, Coimbatore International Airport, Madurai International Airport, Neyveli Airport, and Tiruchirappalli International Airport.
• Telangana: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Begumpet Airport, and Warangal Airport.
• Tripura: Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Agartala Airport, and Kailashahar Airport.
• Uttar Pradesh: Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Noida International Airport, Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Kushinagar International Airport, and Kanpur Civil Aerodrome.
• Uttarakhand: Pantnagar Airport.
• West Bengal: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Bagdogra International Airport, and Durgapur Airport.

Airports in the Union Territories of India

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Veer Savarkar International Airport and Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.
• Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: Diu Airport.
• Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar Airport and Jammu Airport.
• Puducherry: Puducherry Airport.

Airports Authority of India

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. The AAI manages a total of 137 airports, including 34 international airports, 10 customs airports, 81 domestic airports, and 23 civil enclaves at defence airfields.

The AAI was formed in April 1995 by an Act of Parliament, the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994. This act merged the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) and the National Airports Authority of India (NAAI). The IAAI was set up in 1972 to manage India's international airports, while the NAAI was constituted in 1986 to oversee domestic airports.

The AAI board consists of a chairman and five whole-time members appointed by the central government. The Director-General of Civil Aviation is an ex-officio member of the AAI board, which also includes part-time members. The AAI is divided into five administrative regions, each headed by a Regional Executive Director (RED):

• Eastern Regional Headquarters in Kolkata, West Bengal
• Western Regional Headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Northern Regional Headquarters in Delhi, NCR
• Southern Regional Headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• North-Eastern Regional Headquarters in Guwahati, Assam

The AAI provides Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas. It has ground installations at all airports and 25 other locations to ensure aircraft operations safety. The AAI covers all major air routes over the Indian landmass via 29 Radar installations at 11 locations and 700 VOR/DVOR installations co-located with Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). 52 runways are equipped with Instrument Landing System (ILS) installations, with most of these airports also having Night Landing Facilities.

The AAI is also implementing new technologies, such as the Automatic Dependence Surveillance System (ADSS) at Kolkata and Chennai Air Traffic Control Centers, making India the first country in the Southeast Asian region to use this technology. Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures have been implemented at Mumbai, Delhi, and Ahmedabad airports. Additionally, the GAGAN project is being executed in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to augment GPS navigation signals for aircraft.

International and domestic airports

India has a vast network of airports, with nearly 80 domestic airports and 33 international airports, with 11 of those being limited international airports. All the states have at least one major international airport and two or more domestic airports.

Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)

Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi is the busiest airport in India, with a passenger traffic of over 57 million handled during 2016-17. It has three runways, one of which is the longest in India at 4430 meters.

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM)

Located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, this airport is a major hub for domestic and international travel.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD)

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Telangana, was ranked 1st in the world for Airport Service Quality. It is the biggest airport in India in terms of area and has won the award for Best Airport in India and Central Asia at the Skytrax Awards in 2016.

Chennai International Airport (MAA)

Chennai International Airport, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is one of the busiest airports in South India.

Kempegowda International Airport (BLR)

Bangalore's Kempegowda International Airport serves the state of Karnataka and is a major hub for domestic and international travel.

Cochin International Airport (COK)

Cochin International Airport, in Cochin, Kerala, is known for its unique blend of ancient and modern architecture.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

Located in Ahmedabad, this airport is named after the former Home Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport

This airport is located in Amritsar, Punjab, and is named after the Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee.

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport

Assam's main airport, Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, is located in Guwahati and serves the Northeast region of India.

Swami Vivekananda Airport

Swami Vivekananda Airport is a domestic airport located in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport

Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport, also known as Indore International Airport, is located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport

Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport is a domestic airport located in Leh, Jammu and Kashmir.

Civil Airport Pathankot

Pathankot's domestic airport serves the city of Pathankot and the surrounding areas of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Vijayawada International Airport

Vijayawada International Airport is located in the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and serves the state's growing travel demands.

India's international and domestic airports play a vital role in enhancing the country's economy and growth. With a mix of government and private airlines, the aviation industry in India has seen tremendous growth, offering convenient and comfortable travel options to millions of passengers each year.

Airport operations and facilities

The AAI provides Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas. It has ground installations at all airports and 25 other locations to ensure aircraft operation safety. The AAI covers all major air routes over the Indian landmass through 29 Radar installations at 11 locations, along with 700 VOR/DVOR installations co-located with Distance Measuring Equipment (DME). 52 runways are equipped with Instrument Landing System (ILS) installations, with most of these airports having Night Landing Facilities.

The AAI also has five training establishments, including three ATS training organisations (ATSTO): The Civil Aviation Training College (CATC) in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh; Hyderabad Training Center (HTC) in Hyderabad, Telangana; and the National Institute of Aviation Training and Management (NIATAM) in Gondia, Maharashtra. The other two are the Indian Aviation Academy (National Institute of Aviation Management and Research (NIAMAR)) in Delhi and Fire Training Centers (FTC) in Delhi and Kolkata.

The AAI's Eastern region, headed by Regional Executive Director (RED) Ms. Nivedita Dube, controls 20 airports (including 12 non-operational airports) and four aeronautical communications stations. The region's responsibilities include communication, navigation, and surveillance, with Kolkata ACC managing almost one-third of Indian airspace.

The Commercial Department of the AAI provides various facilities for passengers, such as retail, food and beverage, duty-free shopping, money exchange, car rental, and vehicle parking.

Airport security and safety

The large number of people passing through airports daily presents potential targets for terrorism and other forms of crime. Additionally, the high concentration of people on large airliners increases the potential death rate in attacks on aircraft. Therefore, airport security plays a crucial role in preventing any threats or dangerous situations from arising or entering the country.

• Deployment of security personnel: This includes a dedicated police force, local police departments, or a country's airport protection service, such as the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in India.
• Surveillance and screening technologies: Airports utilize CCTV surveillance, X-Ray baggage inspection, perimeter security systems, and passenger screening with metal detectors, millimeter-wave scanners, and explosive detection machines.
• Access control: Airports implement measures like biometric or smart cards to control access to vital installations and sensitive areas.
• Restricted areas: Airports designate Security Identification Display Areas (SIDA) that require special qualifications to enter, monitored by physical access control gates or passive systems.
• Trusted traveler programs: Some airports introduce programs to identify trusted travelers, aiming to streamline security screening while maintaining safety.
• Perimeter intrusion detection systems: These systems enable security personnel to locate and respond to any intrusions on the airport perimeter in real time.
• Hijacking and terrorism prevention: The CISF in India, for example, formed an Airport Security Group to protect against unlawful interference.
• Cargo and luggage security: Regulated agents, airlines, and airports have certified security staff to ensure cargo and luggage screening.
• Safety regulations: Airports implement safety measures such as plastic utensils and glasses in food outlets to reduce the risk of their use as weapons.
• International cooperation: Countries share information and adopt successful security measures from other nations, such as the United States adopting Israeli security practices.

Frequently asked questions