Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport — Kolkata, India

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport traces its lineage to the Dum Dum airfield that made Kolkata one of British India's earliest aviation centers, and today it stands as the principal air gateway to West Bengal and much of India's northeast. Named for the fiery independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose, CCU has long connected Kolkata to Southeast Asia and beyond, reflecting the city's historic role as a trading link between South Asia and points east. A striking terminal completed in 2013 drew design inspiration from Bengali cultural motifs, including a roofline said to evoke both a conch shell and a peacock's feather, replacing cramped older facilities that had struggled with the volume of a metropolis of Kolkata's size. The airport handles a mix of domestic trunk routes, international service to the Gulf and Southeast Asia, and considerable cargo traffic tied to the region's jute, tea, and manufacturing exports. Its runways sit near the Hooghly River's floodplain on the city's northeastern edge, within the broader urban sprawl of one of India's most densely populated metropolitan regions.