Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport

Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (IATA: BOM, ICAO: VABB), formerly Sahar International Airport, is the primary international airport in Mumbai, India, and is named after the 17th century Maratha Emperor, Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhosle. The Airport's IATA code – "BOM", is derived from Bombay, Mumbai's former name.

The airport is South Asia's second busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic and the busiest airport in India in terms of international passenger traffic and the second busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic. The airport has five operating terminals spread over an operational area of 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) and is India's and South Asia's largest and most important airline hub; CSIA handled 30.74 million passengers and 656,369 tonnes of cargo during FY 2011-12.

Along with Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, it handles more than half of the air traffic in South Asia. In 2010, the airport was ranked the 30th busiest airport in the world in terms of cargo with 671,238 tonnes handled. In 2011, the airport was ranked the third-best in the world in the 25–40 million passengers category by Airports Council International. Also in 2011, the airport was the 44th busiest in the world with 30,439,122 passengers handled, registering a 7.6% growth rate over the previous year.

The airport is one amongst a few airports in the world to be located within the city's municipal limits. It is situated in the suburbs of Santa Cruz and Sahar in the pincode area of 400099. Mumbai International Airport Limited, a consortium of GVK Industries Ltd, Airports Company South Africa and Bidvest was appointed to carry out the modernisation of Mumbai Airport in February 2006. This project was to be completed by end of 2013, but this has been delayed by another year to the end of 2014. Once completed CSIA will be capable of handling 40 million passengers and 1 million metric tonnes of cargo annually. The construction of a dedicated six lane, elevated road connecting the new terminal with the main arterial Western Express Highway is underway.

Read more about Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport:  History, Structure, Expansion, Statistics, Awards and Honours

Famous quotes containing the word airport:

    It was like taking a beloved person to the airport and returning to an empty house. I miss the people. I miss the world.
    Susan Sontag (b. 1933)