Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata metropolitan area, the capital metropolis of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the primary aviation hub for eastern and northeastern India. It is located in Dum Dum and in proximity to Jessore Road, approximately from Dalhousie Square and Howrah Junction via the Howrah Bridge. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in 1995 after Subhas Chandra Bose, one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement. The airport's IATA code CCU is associated with "Calcutta", the city's name until 2001. Opened in 1924, the airport is one of the oldest airports in India.
Spread over an area of, the airport is the largest hub for air traffic in the eastern part of the country and one of the four operational airports in the state, the others being Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri, Cooch Behar Airport in Cooch Behar and Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Durgapur. The airport handled around 22 million passengers in the financial year 2024–25, making it the sixth-busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic, after Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai airports. The airport is also a major centre for flights to northeast India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Southeast Asia and the Middle Eastern cities of Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.
History
Early history
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport was founded in the early 1900s as the Calcutta Aerodrome. The airport traditionally served as a strategic stopover on the air route from North America and Europe to Indochina and Australia. Dakota 3 was the first aircraft to land in the airport. In 1924, KLM began scheduled stops at Calcutta, as part of their Amsterdam to Batavia route. The same year, a Royal Air Force aircraft landed in Calcutta as part of the first round-the-world expedition by any air force.The airport began as an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armoury in Dum Dum. Sir Stanley Jackson, Governor of Bengal, opened the Bengal Flying Club at Dum Dum/Calcutta aerodrome in February 1929. In 1930, the airfield was made fit for use throughout the year, and other airlines began to utilise the airport. Air Orient began scheduled stops as part of a Paris to Saigon route and Imperial Airways began flights from London to Australia via Calcutta in 1933, thus drew many airlines to Calcutta Airport. Many pioneering flights passed through the airport, including Amelia Earhart's in 1937.
Calcutta played an important role in the Second World War. In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces 7th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers from the airport on combat missions over Burma. The airfield was used as a cargo aerial port for the Air Transport Command and was also used as a communication centre for the Tenth Air Force.
Post-independence (1947–2007)
Passenger services grew after the Second World War. Calcutta became a destination for the world's first jet-powered passenger aircraft, the de Havilland Comet, on a British Overseas Airways Corporation route to London. Furthermore, in 1964 Indian Airlines introduced the first Indian domestic jet service, using Caravelle jets on the Calcutta–Delhi route. Between the 1940s and 1960s, the airport was served by several major airlines including Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Pan Am, Qantas, Swissair, and SAS.Due to the introduction of longer-haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s and also during the year 1971, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War saw a large increase of both refugees and disease in Calcutta, causing more airlines to cease services to the city. In 1975, the airport opened the first dedicated cargo terminal in India.
The 1990s saw new growth for Calcutta Airport, as the Indian aviation industry saw the arrival of new airlines such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara. A new domestic terminal named Terminal 2 was opened in 1995 making the international one Terminal 1, and the airport was renamed in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In 2000, a new international arrival hall was opened.
The year 2005 saw the growth of low-cost carriers in the Indian aviation sector, with new airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo, and Kingfisher Airlines. This led to a dramatic rise in passenger numbers at the airport. Overcrowding in both terminals led to the implementation of a comprehensive modernisation plan for the airport.
Modernisation (2008–present)
The modernisation plan for the Kolkata Airport received the final nod on 14 August 2008. The project, worth, included the construction of a new terminal building with a passengers handling capacity of 20 million passengers per annum, expansion of secondary runway, upgradation of the navigation facilities, addition of taxiways and parking bays and. The then existing domestic and international terminals had a capacity of 4.06 mppa and 0.88 mppa, respectively, and were already saturated having handled 6.45 million and 1.01 million passengers in 2007-08. During 2003–08, the airport saw a 21.4% growth in domestic traffic and 6.4% growth in international traffic with further traffic growth of 19% per annum expected till 2011-12. A series of approvals were granted between April 2007 and May 2008 from multiple authorities for the project.Meanwhile, the secondary runway was to be extended to at a cost of along with the construction of 11 parking bays and a taxiway at and the upgradation of infrastructure including Communication, Navigation and Surveillance equipment at. A fund of was also allocated to construct a grade separator and connecting the airport with the roadway and railway network of the city. The Airports Authority of India would provide 80% of the project fund while the rest would be sought through commercial borrowings. The AAI had already spent ₹32 crore for consultancy and other preparatory work for the project in the fiscal year. The presence of a 119-year-old mosque that lies 30 metres from the secondary runway's northern end meant the runway would be expanded from the southern end. The proposed taxiway would join the northern ends of both the runways.
In February 2014, the Kolkata Airport had sent a proposal to upgrade its Instrument Landing System facilities in the runway to the higher authorities. The approval and project sanction, worth, was received in August that year. The project was expected to be executed between February–March and December 2015. As part of the upgradation, the primary runway's southern stretch, then equipped with a CAT II ILS, would be upgraded to CAT III-B. This would reduce the chances of ceasing flight operations during foggy winter and harsh weather conditions when there is a drop in visibility. Flight operations were affected 12 times or 50
The modernisation plan included some improvements of the airport's existing terminals, including the addition of extra ticketing counters, check-in kiosks, and cafes to the domestic terminal in 2009. However, the need to replace the airport's terminals entirely led to plans for a new integrated terminal, known as T2 to differentiate it from the older domestic block, to serve both international and domestic destinations. A Thai-based company, the Italian-Thai Development Corporation and the 125-year-old iconic Project Management Consultant–Parsons Brinckerhoff was hired with Delhi-based designer Sikka Associates Architects to construct the building. Construction commenced in November 2008, and T2 was inaugurated on 20 January 2013 after overshooting the previous deadlines of July 2011 and August 2012. The former airport hotel 'Ashok' was demolished to give way for two new five-star luxury hotels and a shopping mall in its place.
Commercial operations were intended to start on 23 January 2013, the 116th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. However, the shift to the new terminal was only completed on 16 March 2013. Airports Council International named it the best improved airport in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014 and 2015.
On 27 November 2025, the CAT III-B ILS for the 19L approach of the primary runway was activated for the first time. This was an upgrade from the CAT II ILS for the side, though the 01R approach was already equipped with CAT III-B earlier.
Infrastructure
Runways
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport has two parallel runways, the primary runway 01R/19L has a capacity of approximately 35 flights per hour and the secondary runway 01L/19R has a capacity of 15 flights per hour. The secondary runway is usually used as a taxiway when the main runway is used. When the primary runway is shut down for maintenance purposes, the secondary runway is used. The secondary runway was expected to undergo a recarpeting under a project in 2025. By September 2025, the improvements have enhanced the operating capacity of the airport to 35 to 40 flights per hour.| Runway number | Length | Width | Approach lights/ILS |
| 01L/19R | No ILS / CAT I | ||
| 01R/19L | CAT III-B / CAT III-B |