With a rise in air travel, the domestic aviation market has tripled in the past five years, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Riding high on the aviation boom, India has built 17 international airports.
Take a look at India's 17 international airports...
1. Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi)
This is the busiest airport in India terms of daily flight traffic. With the swanky new Terminal 3, Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport has become an important aviation hub, with a current capacity of handling more than 46 million passengers.
The Terminal 3 is the world's eighth largest passenger terminal. The airport received the fourth best airport award in the world (in the 15-25 million category) and 'Best Improved Airport' in the Asia-Pacific Region by Airport Council International.
In 2011-12, the airport handled 35.88 million passengers and the planned expansion program will increase its capacity to handle 100 million passengers by 2030.
...
(The airports are not ranked, this is a listing of India's 17 international airports).
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Photographs: Ramesh NG/Wikimedia Commons.
One of South Asia's most notable aviation hubs, the Mumbai airport along with Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, handles more than half of the air traffic in South Asia.
In 2011, the airport was ranked the third-best in the world in the 25-40 million passengers category by Airports Council International. It is the second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in India.
The airport, with its five operating terminals is spread over an operational area of 1,450 acres.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Photographs: Prateek Karandikar/Wikimedia Commons.
Hyderabad international airport has been named amongst the world's top five in the annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger survey along with the ones at Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing.
The airport near Shamshabad replaced the former international airport at Begumpet in March 2008. The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the second airport built in India on a public-private partnership.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Photographs: Kprateek88/ Wikimedia Commons.
Spread across 4,000 acres of land, the impressive airport replaced the old HAL airport in Bengaluru.
For the financial year 2011, it was the fourth busiest airport in the country in terms of overall passenger traffic of 12.69 million and fifth busiest in terms of international passenger traffic.
It has been awarded "India's best airport" for the year 2011 by the survey conducted by Skytrax.It was awarded "India's best airport" for the year 2011 by the survey conducted by Skytrax. The airport is expected to handle 17 million passengers in the year 2015.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Chennai has India's third busiest airport in terms of both international and overall passenger traffic. As of 2012, the annual passenger traffic at the airport is about 13 million and the airport handles about 325 aircraft movements a day.
The passenger traffic is estimated to double by 2020 when the airport will be capable of handling only 500 aircraft movements a day
The airport was built on the land donated by former governor of Madras Presidency, L Sriramulu Naidu.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
From April 2006 to March 2012, it was the fifth busiest airport in the country in terms of overall passenger traffic, and ninth busiest in terms of international passenger traffic.
The swanky terminal is an L-shaped structure with two-tiers for arrivals and departures. It will also have two level underground parking to accommodate 1250 cars.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
It is the largest and busiest airport in Kerala.
For the financial year 2011-12, it was the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic and seventh busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic.
Cochin International Airport is the first airport in the country to be developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
This is India's eighth busiest airport with an average of 250 aircraft movements a day. The airport is spread over an area of 1,124 acres.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
The Goa International Airport is spread over an area of 1,700 acres.
The Goa airport is one of the few profitable airports managed by the Airport Authority of India.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Thiruvananthapuram airport is the first international airport in a non-metro city in India.
It is the 8th busiest airport in the country in terms of international passenger traffic and tenth busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic.
It is the second busiest airport in Kerala in terms of domestic and international traffic after Cochin International Airport.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Jaipur airport is the only international airport in Rajasthan. It was granted the status of international airport in December 2005.
There are plans to extend the runway to 12,000 ft (3,658 m) and expand the terminal building to accommodate more passengers.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Photographs: Malekhanif/Wikimedia Commons.
Srinagar International Airport has been named after the Kashmiri saint, Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani, popularly as Sheikh-ul-Alam.
The airport has been revamped with a host of new facilities.
A new terminal for departure and arrival, aero bridges and other operational facilities were inaugurated in 2009.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
The airport currently handles about 100 commercial flights (international and domestic) in a week.
The airport is named after Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru.
...
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Photographs: AnonyLog/Wikimedia Commons.
Guwahati International Airport, managed by Airports Authority of India is a major hub for flights to North-East India.
The airport has been named after Gopinath Bordoloi who was a freedom fighter and also the first chief minister of Assam after independence.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
The airport connects Nagpur to India's main aviation hubs of Mumbai and Delhi, as well as the international destinations like Sharjah and Dubai.
This airport is slated to be the multimodal international hub airport, which will reduce the overload on other busy airports in India.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
The third International airport in Kerala, the airport serves north Kerala. Air India Express has a base at the airport.
The airport was given the international airport status in February 2006 after it enhanced infrastructural facilities for handling international flights.
India's 17 spectacular international airports
Named after the Indian freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Port Blair airport received the international status in 2007.
It is managed by the Airport Authority of India. Its runaway stretches to distance of 3,290 metres (10,794 feet).
article