Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (IATA: HYD, ICAO: VOHS) is an international airport that serves Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Shamshabad, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Hyderabad and it was opened on 23 March 2008 to replace Begumpet Airport, which was till then the sole civilian airport serving Hyderabad. It is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a public–private consortium. It was the first airport in India to launch domestic e-boarding facility in December 2015, followed with international e-boarding facility in October 2020, and ranked in AirHelp's list of top 10 airports in the world. The fourth-busiest airport in India by passenger traffic, it handled over 29 million passengers and over 167,660 tonnes (184,810 short tons) of cargo between April 2024 and March 2025.
The airport is India's first greenfield airport built under a public-private partnership model. It was named after Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. Built over an area of 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres), it is the largest airport of India by area. The airport has an integrated passenger terminal, a cargo terminal and two runways. There are also aviation training facilities, a fuel farm, a solar power plant and two maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) facilities.
The existing commercial airport, Begumpet Airport, was unable to handle rising passenger traffic. The State Government initially considered converting Hakimpet Air Force Station to civilian use; however, the Air Force refused. When the State proposed the construction of a new airport for the Air Force, the Ministry of Defence suggested the State consider sites south of Begumpet Airport. By October 1998, the State had narrowed down to three possible locations for the new airport: Bongloor, Nadergul and Shamshabad. Due to its convenient location near two highways (NH 44 and NH 765) and a railway line, Shamshabad was selected in December 1998.
In November 2000, under the N. Chandrababu Naidu government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed a memorandum of understanding on the greenfield airport project, establishing it as a public–private partnership. The State and AAI together would hold a 26% stake in the project, while the remaining 74% would be allotted to private companies. Through a bidding process the consortium consisting of Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR Group) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad was selected as the holder of the 74% stake.
In December 2002, Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL), later renamed GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), was created as a special purpose entity, into which the State, AAI and GMR–MAHB placed their stakes.
In September 2003, the members of GHIAL signed a shareholders' agreement, as well as an agreement for state subsidy of over ₹4 billion (US$42 million). A concession agreement between GHIAL and the Central Government was signed in December 2004, stipulating that no airport within a 150-kilometre (93 mi) radius of RGIA could be operated. Thus, the closure of Begumpet Airport was required.
Construction and opening (2005–2008)
The project was forwarded when Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy gained power and construction began by GMR on 16 March 2005 when Sonia Gandhi laid the foundation stone. Two days prior, the Central Government had named the airport after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who had undergone pilot training in Hyderabad. The naming resulted in opposition from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). At Begumpet Airport, the international terminal was named after Rajiv Gandhi while the domestic terminal was named after TDP founder N. T. Rama Rao; TDP wanted to continue this naming convention at the new airport. However, the new airport has only one terminal.
Roughly three years after the foundation stone laying ceremony, the airport was inaugurated on 14 March 2008 amid protests. TDP repeated its demand for the naming of the domestic terminal. In addition, on 12 and 13 March, 20,000 AAI employees had conducted a strike against the closure of Begumpet Airport, as well as that of HAL Airport in Bangalore, fearing they would lose their jobs.
RGIA was originally scheduled to open to commercial operations on 16 March 2008; however, the date was delayed due to protests from some airlines over the high ground handling rates at the airport. Once the rates were reduced, the launch date was set for 23 March 2008. Although Lufthansa Flight 752 from Frankfurt was scheduled to be the first flight to land at RGIA, two SpiceJet flights landed earlier. However, the Lufthansa flight still received the planned ceremonial welcome upon its 12:25 am arrival.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport reassigned the IATA airport code, HYD, from Begumpet Airport after the previous airport ceased international commercial flights.
Later developments (2009–present)
In September 2011, SpiceJet launched its regional hub at RGIA, using its new Bombardier Q400 aircraft. The airline, which chose Hyderabad due to its central location in the country, flies to several Tier-II and Tier-III cities from the airport. Regional airline TruJet too opened a hub at RGIA upon commencing operations in July 2015.
In November 2014, the Ministry of Civil Aviation resolved that the domestic terminal of RGIA would be named after N. T. Rama Rao, resulting in protests from members of the Rajya Sabha. Airport officials remained unsure as to how the naming would occur.
RGIA is owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), a public–private venture. It is composed of the private firm, GMR Group (74%) and the public entities, Airports Authority of India (13%) and the Government of Telangana (13%). Previously, GMR Group had a consortium with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, in which it held a share of 11% and GMR Group shared 63% in owning the airport. Per the concession agreement between GHIAL and the Central Government, GHIAL has the right to operate the airport for 30 years, with the option to continue doing so for another 30 years. In May 2022, the Central Government extended the concession agreement term of GHIAL from 23 March 2038, up to 22 March 2068. In October 2023, GMR Group informed in a release announcing the signing of Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) that it had decided to acquire the 11% stake of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, thus raising its overall stake to 74%. Hence, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad withdrew from the ownership, and GMR Group took over its stake in January 2024.
The airport is spread over 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres). Out of which 810 hectares (2,000 acres) have been developed towards airport needs which mainly constitutes 690 hectares (1,700 acres) of land is airside and 120 hectares (300 acres) of land is landside facilities. The remaining 1,414 hectares (3,495 acres) is expansion of the airport. No further land will be acquired. The airport is fully planned within 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres).
Runway 09L/27R: 3,707 by 45 metres (12,162 ft × 148 ft)
Runway 09R/27L: 4,260 by 60 metres (13,980 ft × 200 ft), ILS equipped