Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International — renamed in 2005 for the constitutional architect who was born in nearby Mhow — serves Nagpur, India's geographic centre, and is positioned to exploit that literal-centre-of-the-country location as a cargo and transhipment hub. The 3,200 m (10,500 ft) asphalt runway accommodates widebody operations and supports both the airport's passenger schedule of roughly 3M annual travelers and an anchor tenant — Air India's Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility and a dedicated Boeing 777 freighter operation — that gives NAG operational weight beyond its passenger numbers. Its place in the 534 largest rests on this freight-and-MRO profile as much as on scheduled traffic. About 7 airlines operate 20 routes to 15 destinations (2026). IndiGo, Air India Express, and Akasa dominate the domestic schedule with flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune, supplemented by regional services to Indore, Raipur, Jaipur, and Goa. Limited international service covers Sharjah and Doha. The network reflects NAG's role as the aviation gateway to Vidarbha and the adjoining tiger-reserve corridor (Tadoba, Pench, Kanha). Nagpur is a designated MIHAN (Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur) special economic zone — a freight-first strategic project anchoring the airport to rail, road, and a dedicated cargo terminal. A planned second runway and a privatisation concession awarded in 2019 (subject to ongoing proceedings) aim to lift capacity to 14M passengers. The Nagpur Metro's Orange Line terminates at the 'Airport Metro' station directly linked to the terminal — an integration uncommon among Indian mid-tier airports and a 2020s upgrade reflecting the city's mobility investment.