Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport ...

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata is an international airport that serves around 85 percent domestic travelers. As India's fifth busiest airport, it handled 19 million passengers in 2017. According to information released by the Airports Council International (ACI) in April 2018, Kolkata is now India's fastest growing airport, with passenger traffic increasing by 27 percent over the previous. Traffic has increased due to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) regional connectivity scheme, which connect 22 underserved airports to major hubs.



While Kolkata airport is presently a major center for flights to Northeast India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Southeast Asia, it's hoped that the new terminal will attract more international airlines to service the city. However, the airport is already about to reach its existing capacity of 20 million passengers, necessitating further expansion. This is planned to be undertaken in two parts, involving linking the old airport terminal with the new one and then building a third terminal. This will double the airport's capacity to 40 million passengers by 2021.

The airport has started using solar power, from solar panels installed on the premises, for its day-to-day operations.



Public Transportation and Taxis

The cheapest and most convenient way to get to the city center is to take a government prepaid taxi. These taxi operate 24 hours. There are booking counters inside the terminal is near Gate 3C, and outside the terminal opposite gates 4A and 4B of the arrival level. Further counters are planned to open near near gates 1A and 2. A fare to Sudder Street is about 350 rupees (about $5). Be careful of touts outside the terminal who will direct you to other "luxury" taxi counters, where the fare will be much higher.

There's also a kiosk run by a private operator Mega Cabs, which has cleaner but slightly more costly taxis. They are metered taxis. The driver will give you a receipt at the end of the journey and you'll pay him cash.