Air and sea

Air transport is the fastest way to connect places within and between countries. Passenger flights carry people; cargo flights carry goods that are very valuable or spoil quickly — like vaccines, chemicals and seafood.

See the pattern: when speed is worth the high cost, things go by air. Heavy, cheap goods like coal and cement do not.

Planes are especially useful in disasters like floods and earthquakes, because they can reach high mountains, deserts, thick forests and far-off seas quickly. When roads are washed away, the air route may be the only one left.

India has the world's third-highest domestic air traffic (after the USA and China), handling about 376 million passengers in 2024–25. In 2025 India had 159 airports.

Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru is designed around the idea of a 'garden city', with bamboo structures, plants and green spaces alongside the latest facilities. Infrastructure can be modern and green at the same time.

India's coastline of about 11,100 km links it by sea to West Asia, Africa and Europe. Ships are a cheaper way to carry heavy goods like coal, cars and cement over long distances.

Ships load and unload at ports. India has 12 major ports and 217 minor ports, and the cargo they handle has grown by 50 per cent in the last ten years.

Ports are measured in TEU — Twenty-foot Equivalent Units — a measure of container capacity (about 33 cubic metres each). In 2024 the busiest ports were Shanghai, Singapore, Busan, Jebel Ali (Dubai), Port Klang, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Los Angeles; Mumbai handled about 7 million TEU — about an eighth of Shanghai's 51.5 million. That shows how much room India has to grow.