Introduction

The Airports Authority of India is the agency that manages both the international airports of India and the domestic airports of India. There are 487 airports/runways in India, of which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) manages a total of 137 airports including 103 domestic airports, 24 international airports and 10 customs airports. AAI is responsible for the creation, maintenance, modernization and management of India's civil aviation infrastructure and reports to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has established Air Traffic Management Service (ATMS) in Indian airspace and adjacent maritime areas with ground facilities at all airports and 25 other locations to ensure the safety of aircraft.

Classification of Airports

There are a couple of broad definitions when discussing airport classification.

Airports are classified into the following types:

• Based on take-off and landing
• Based on Aircraft approach speed
• Based on Function
• Based on Geometric design
• Based on Aircraft wheel characteristic

List of International Airports In India

1. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, Telangana
2. Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport- Amritsar, Punjab
3. Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport- Guwahati, Assam
4. Biju Patnaik International Airport- Bhubaneswar, Odisha
5. Gaya Airport- Gaya, Bihar
6. Indira Gandhi International Airport- New Delhi, Delhi
7. Veer Savarkar International Airport- Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
8. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport- Ahmedabad, Gujarat
9. Kempegowda International Airport- Bengaluru, Karnataka
10. Mangalore International Airport- Mangalore, Karnataka
11. Cochin International Airport- Kochi, Kerala
12. Calicut International Airport- Kozhikode, Kerala
13. Trivandrum International Airport- Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
14. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport- Mumbai, Maharashtra
15. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport- Nagpur, Maharashtra
16. Jaipur International Airport- Jaipur, Rajasthan
17. Chennai International Airport- Chennai, Tamil Nadu
18. Tiruchirappalli International Airport- Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
19. Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
20. Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport- Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
21. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport- Kolkata, West Bengal
22. Kannur International Airport- Kannur, Kerala
23. Surat Airport- Surat, Gujarat
24. Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport- Indore, Madhya Pradesh
25. Dabolim Airport- Dabolim, Goa
26. Coimbatore International Airport- Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
27. Sheikh ul-Aalam International Airport- Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
28. Imphal International Airport- Imphal, Manipur
29. Madurai Airport - Madurai, Tamil Nadu
30. Bagdogra International Airport- Siliguri, West Bengal
31. Mangalore International Airport- Mangalore, Karnataka
32. Chandigarh International Airport- Chandigarh
33. Nashik Airport -Nashik, Maharashtra
34. Vadodara Airport- Vadodara, Gujarat
35. Kushinagar Airport- Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh

Important Points about International Airports

• There are 34 international airports in operation in India.
• Indira Gandhi International Airport is the largest international airport built on an area of 5495 acres. It is also the busiest airport in India, followed by Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
• Cochin International Airport, Kerala, is India's first international airport developed under the PPP (public-private partnership) model.
• Calicut International Airport, Kerala was recently added to the list of international airports in India.
• Juhu Aerodrome, Mumbai is India's first and oldest airport established in 1928.
• Trichy Airport is India's smallest airport.
• Kushok Bakula Rimpochee, Ladhak He is 3256 meters, his 23rd highest commercial airport in the world.