Maharashtra has excellent transport connectivity with other states. All modes of transportation road, rail, sea and air are abundantly available. The state houses several coastal cities, hence transportation by sea is also an available option. But, air travel is the most popular mode of transport among the tourists. When we take the statistics of air travel, it can be observed that air travel through two of the popular airports in Mumbai is the highest. This article gives detailed information about the major airports in Maharashtra.

Major Airports in Maharashtra

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai)

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is one of the busiest airports in India. An estimated forty five take offs and landings takes place here every hour. Chhatrapati Shivaji airport is located at Sahar and contain two terminals 2C and 2A. The airport provides all the essential facilities like Medical room, ATM, restaurant, wheel chair, snacks bar, inter-terminal Coach Service, Lost & Found Counter etc.

Santa Cruz Domestic Airport (Mumbai)

The domestic airport of Mumbai is the Santa Cruz airport located at Santa Cruz. The airport has two terminals 1A and 1B. The airport is provided with excellent shuttle service at frequent intervals for travelling between domestic and international terminals.

Lohegaon Airport (Pune)

Pune airport is located at Lohegaon which lies 10 km away from Pune city and railway station. Domestic flights operate from Pune to all major destinations in the country. Apart from domestic flights there are flights to international destinations like Dubai and Singapore. A proposal for construction of a new airport between Rajgurunagar and Chakan on the Nashik-Pune National Highway is underway.

Chikkalthana Airport (Aurangabad)

Chikkalthana airport is located at a distance of 10 km from the main Aurangabad city. It is basically a domestic airport and has frequent flights to important destinations like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi. The main travellers to Aurangabad by air are the tourists visiting the Ajanta and Ellora caves.

Dr. Ambedkar International Airport (Nagpur)

Apart from the airports located in Mumbai, the Ambedkar International airport is a prominent airport located 8 km away from the main Nagpur city. The airport was basically a domestic airport till Oct 2005. However, with the commencement of few international flights to Bangkok and Sharjah it has got the international status.

Kolhapur Airport

Domestic airport at Kolhapur is located at a distance of 9 km from the main Kolhapur city. The complete airport is spread across an area of 180 acres. Kolhapur airport has frequent flights to all major cities in the country.

Sholapur Airport

There is also a prominent domestic airport at Sholapur. Regular domestic flights to all the major cities of the country operate from Sholapur airport.

Some other Airports in Maharashtra are as follow:

Operators of Airports in Maharashtra

Airports Authority of India (AAI)

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is the largest airport managing body in the country. It manages approximately one hundred and twenty five airports across various cities in the country. Out of these 125 airports, 81 airports are domestic and twelve are international, 8 airports are customs and twenty five airports are civil terminals in defence airports. Airports Authority of India (AAI) also caters for Air Traffic Management Services (ATMS) over the complete aerospace of the country and the nearby oceanic areas with excellent ground installations provided at the airports. The ATMS functions effectively with an aim to provide safe flight operations. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed a memorandum of understanding with airports located at Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune airport to provide world class infrastructure and standards.

GVK

The commencement of Aviation sector business for GVK began with the modernization project of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai. GVK also currently has 43% shares in Bengaluru International Airport making it the largest airport operator in the country. As per statistics, GVK handles approximately forty four million passengers every year at these two major airports of the country. These two airports provide world class standards for its travellers and the infrastructure available at these airports have been largely appreciated worldwide. GVK Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport has won the third best airport world title in handling 25 to 40 million people per anum category in the year 2012. Further, Bengaluru International Airport has been adjudged the first airport in Asia Pacific region to get certifiedBusiness Continuity Management Systems.

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC)

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is the largest corporation owned by the state. MIDC is a project owned by government of Maharashtra, which facilitates provision of infrastructure like drainage facilities, roads, lands (built up as well as open plots), street lights etc. The present CEO of MIDC is Mr Bhushan Gagrani, IAS.

Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC)

Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) is a unique functionary Company formed by Maharashtra Government in 2002. The main aim of MADC was to devise and execute the multitude for port and cargo hub at Nagpur airport which is popularly called Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project. MADC is also provided with a responsibility of developing and providing infrastructure to the airports that are not looked after by the Indian Air Force and Airports Authority of India (AAI). These airports are to be maintained to provide air connectivity between Mumbai (state capital) and district Headquarters.

Reliance Infra

Reliance Infra has plans to build five airports at various locations in Maharashtra. It is also bidding for building new airports across various states and locations in India. The locations of the five airports in Maharashtra which is to be built by Reliance Infra are at:

• Guru Gobind Singhji Airport – Nanded
• Latur Airport
• Baramati Airport
• Osmanabad Airport
• Yavatmal airport