The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, responsible for the management of civil aviation infrastructure in the country. It operates a large network of airports across India and provides air navigation services over Indian airspace and adjoining oceanic areas.
| Name | Airports Authority of India |
|---|---|
| Type | Statutory body / Public sector enterprise |
| Parent ministry | Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India |
| Constituting law | Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 |
| Formed | 1 April 1995 |
| Headquarters | Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, Safdarjung Airport, New Delhi |
| Function | Operation of airports and provision of air navigation services in India |
Before the formation of AAI, civil aviation infrastructure in India was managed by two separate bodies: the National Airports Authority (NAA), which handled domestic airports, and the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI), which managed the country's international airports. To consolidate functions and bring uniformity in operations, Parliament enacted the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994, merging the two organisations into a single statutory authority.
AAI manages a wide range of airports, including international, domestic, customs and civil enclaves at defence airfields. It is also responsible for air traffic control over the Indian flight information regions, which extend over Indian territory and a substantial portion of the Indian Ocean. The authority operates training establishments such as the Civil Aviation Training College (CATC) at Allahabad (Prayagraj) and the National Institute of Aviation Management and Research (NIAMAR) in Delhi.
AAI is headed by a Chairman, supported by a board comprising functional members responsible for operations, planning, finance, human resources, and air navigation services. The Chairman is appointed by the Government of India. The headquarters is located at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan in New Delhi, with regional headquarters covering the northern, southern, eastern, western, north-eastern and Andaman regions.
As the principal agency for civil aviation infrastructure in India, AAI plays a central role in the country's aviation sector, which has grown rapidly since economic liberalisation. The authority has implemented modernisation programmes for terminals and runways, deployed satellite-based navigation systems such as GAGAN (GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) jointly with ISRO, and supports the regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) by developing under-served and unserved airports.