India, the largest democracy in the world is home to a total of 487 airports, airstrips, flying schools and military bases within the country. With 123 airports that have scheduled commercial flights including some with both, civilian and army use, the country has 35 international airports. With the airport boom in the country, here are the top eight states that have the maximum number of international airports.
1.Uttar Pradesh
The state currently has three operational international airports located at Kushinagar, Lucknow and Varanasi. But with two more airports coming up at Jewar and Ayodhya, both of which are under construction, the total count comes to five, making Uttar Pradesh the state with the highest number of airports in the country.
2. Kerala
Kerala has 7 airports out of which 4 are international airports located in Kannur, Cochin, Calicut and Trivandrum districts. The Cochin International airport is the largest airport in the state.
3. Tamil Nadu
Just like the neighbouring Kerala, Tamil Nadu also has four operational international airports at Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Madurai. The state houses three domestic airports too. The Tiruchirappalli International airport, has the shortest runway length of 1372 metres, spread across 702 acres, making it the smallest international airport in the country.
4. Andhra Pradesh
The state has three international airports at Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada. In financial year 2021, for the first time the Rajiv Gandhi international airport at Hyderabad, overtook the Chennai airport to become the fourth busiest airport in India.
5. Gujarat
With two international airports at Ahmedabad and Vadodara, and a third one coming up at Rajkot, the state will have three international airports. Along with these, Gujarat has nine domestic airports, two private airports and three military bases.
6. Maharashtra
The state currently has two international airports at Mumbai and Nagpur and the third one- Chhatrapati Sambhaji Airport at Pune is currently under construction, taking the count to three. The International airport at Mumbai is the second busiest airport in the country.
7. Karnataka and West Bengal
The southern state of Karnataka has two international airports- Kempegowda International Airport at Bangalore and Mangalore International Airport. The Kempegowda International Airport handles both, domestic and international flights.
The state of West Bengal is home to two international airports- Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International airport at Kolkata and Bagdogra International airport at Siliguri. The airports are the aviation hub for all of eastern and north-eastern states of the country.
In terms of international passenger traffic, the Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi is the busiest Indian airport, followed by Chhatrapati Shivaji international Airport at Mumbai. The Cochin international Airport became the first airport in the world that operates completely on solar power. And now the most anticipated Noida International airport coming up at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh will be the first airport with net zero emissions.
