What is called airport?
An airport is a place where any air vehicle, such as an airplane, helicopter, etc., takes off and lands. Aircraft can also be stored here. An airport must have at least one runway, a helipad and terminal buildings. Apart from these there can be hangers also.
History of Air Transport in India:
The history of air service in India is very old. There are many airports in India which include domestic and international airports. Air transport in India was started in 1912 AD. Indian Airlines serves the interior parts of the country as well as neighboring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives.
Apart from this, the Airlines Corporation of India also provides its services for foreign services. According to the data released by the Airports Authority of India in November 2016, there are a total of 34 international airports in India, whose names and locations are listed below.
Interesting facts related to air transport in India:
- India's first international air service was started between Karachi and Chennai.
- The National Air Transport Company of India was established in the year 1933.
- All the air transport companies of the country were nationalized in the year 1953 and were placed under two corporations – Bhartiya Viman Nigam (Indian Airlines) and Air India.
- A third corporation named "Vayudoot" was established in 1981 for domestic services in India, but was later merged with Indian Airlines.
- Air India and Indian Airlines merged in the year 2010.
- Indira Gandhi National Flying Academy is located at Fursatganj (Uttar Pradesh).
- The International Airport Authority of India was established in June 1972.
- National Airport Authority was established in the year 1986.
- The first air mail service was started between Allahabad and Naini.
- Air India was established in India in 1953 AD.
- The International Airport Authority of India was established in June 1972 AD.
- The first international airport after independence was Trivandrum.
Note:- The under-construction Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh has received necessary approval from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on 25 February 2021 to operate international flights.
Once operational, the Kushinagar airport will become the third functional international facility in the state. Currently, Uttar Pradesh has two international airports, the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi.
About Kushinagar Airport:
- Kushinagar airport will serve as the nearest international airport to several Buddhist pilgrimage sites at Lumbini, Sravasti and Kapilvastu.
- The new airport will boost tourism in the region and facilitate travel on the Buddhist circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city.
List of International Airports in India:
| Airport | State |
| Indira Gandhi International Airport | New Delhi, Delhi |
| Kannur International Airport | Kannur, Kerala |
| Calicut International Airport | Kozhikode, Kerala |
| Kempegowda International Airport | Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Kochi International Airport | Kochi, Kerala |
| Coimbatore International Airport | Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu |
| Gaya Airport | Gaya, Bihar |
| Goa International Airport | Goa, Goa |
| Chennai International Airport | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport | Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Jaipur International Airport | Jaipur, Rajasthan |
| Zaruki International Airport | Shillong, Meghalaya |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport | Nagpur, Maharashtra |
| Tiruchirappalli International Airport< | Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu |
| Trivandrum International Airport | Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala |
| Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport | Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
| Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport | Kolkata, West Bengal |
| Pune airport | Pune, Maharashtra |
| Biju Patnaik International Airport | Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| Mangalore Airport | Mangalore, Karnataka |
| Madurai Airport | Madurai, Tamil Nadu |
| Maharaja Nara Singh International Airport | Imphal, Manipur |
| Raja Bhoj Airport | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Airport | Hyderabad, Telangana |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Lok Nayak Jayaprakash International Airport | Patna, Bihar |
| Lokpak Gopinath Bardoli International Airport | Guwahati, Assam |
| Visakhapatnam Airport | Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh |
| Veer Savarkar International Airport | Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport | Mohali, Punjab |
| Shri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport | Amritsar, Punjab |
| Srinagar International Airport | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport | Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| Kushinagar International Airport | Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh |
Now practice related questions and see what you learnt?
☞ Airports in India GK Questions and Answers 🔗
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