India is rapidly transforming its infrastructure, making significant strides to support its growing economy and global ambitions. Through the development of modern highways, railways, and world-class airports, it supports its economic growth and global aspirations.
India’s biggest airport is an example of this transformation. It is a crazy, bustling city that meets new aviation and passenger experience standards.
Where is India’s largest airport located?
India has the third-largest aviation market in the world. Last year, over 370 million domestic air travelers flew in India. This market is growing at a rate of 15%. You may be surprised to learn that the biggest airport in India is not found among the major cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai. It is, in fact, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Located in Shamshabad, Hyderabad, it is the largest airport in India by area.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad – This airport covers an area of more than 5,500 acres of land. According to the Zeenews report, it has Asia’s longest runway-4,260 meters-in length and is wide enough to accommodate fairly large aircraft such as the Airbus A380. The airport has a wholly single integrated passenger terminal structure that has the capacity to handle 34 million passengers annually. For the year 2022-2023, 21 million passengers travelled through this airport.
What unique features make this airport stand out?
This airport introduced e-boarding facilities in India. It has 83 parking bays, 10 aerobridges, 46 immigration counters, and 96 check-in counters. There is access to free wi-fi, duty-free shopping, baby care rooms, emergency medical services, a pharmacy, and luggage storage at the airport.
Having ranked 8th in the global top 10 airports, this airport is expanding to address future needs as a new terminal and runway are being built to increase capacity from 20 million to 45 million passengers annually, as the airport plans a new cargo terminal and a multimodal transit facility.
Indira Gandhi International Airport at Delhi is the second largest with an area of 5,106 acres. Kempegowda International Airport at Bengaluru is at number three with an area of 4,008 acres.