How many airports are there in India?

Q: How many airports are there in India?

The total number of airports in India are around 495 , which includes airports owned by defence establishments, state governments, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and private operators. Out of these AAI owns 137 airports of which only 109 are operational.

Indian Airports - Aviation Industry News

Indian Airports are bustling with growth. Even most modern new airport like Bengaluru opened 10 years back are running out of space. Remote airports are also expanding the infrastructure with new terminals, run ways, navigation systems to accommodate modern aircrafts.

Various moves like public-private partnership or 100% privatization are at the forefront of these expansion activities. Indian Government is considering privatization of 4 big airports – Kolkatta, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. The objective is to raise the standards of the Indian airport to world class. Around 8 firms are in the pipeline to bid for the privatization of these airports.

The firms which have evinced interest are GMR Airports, GVK Group, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited, Siemens Postal Parcel & Airport Logistics Pvt Ltd and International Business Development Flughafen Zurich AG Postfrach . However, there is resistance from employees and they are threatening a protest in March 2015. It may be noted, the earlier government had also sought to privatize these airport but could not make progress.

The total number of airports in India are around 495, which includes airports owned by defence establishments, state governments, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and private operators. Out of these AAI owns 137 airports of which only 109 are operational.