Early history

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport was founded in the early 1900s as the Calcutta Aerodrome. The airport traditionally served as a strategic stopover on the air route from North America and Europe to Indochina and Australia. Dakota 3 was the first aircraft to land in the airport. In 1924, KLM began scheduled stops at Calcutta, as part of their Amsterdam to Batavia (Jakarta) route. The same year, a Royal Air Force aircraft landed in Calcutta as part of the first round-the-world expedition by any air force.

The airport began as an open ground next to the Royal Artillery Armoury in Dum Dum. Sir Stanley Jackson, Governor of Bengal, opened the Bengal Flying Club at Dum Dum/Calcutta aerodrome in February 1929. In 1930, the airfield was made fit for use throughout the year, and other airlines began to utilise the airport. Air Orient began scheduled stops as part of a Paris to Saigon route and Imperial Airways began flights from London to Australia via Calcutta in 1933, thus drew many airlines to Calcutta Airport. Many pioneering flights passed through the airport, including Amelia Earhart's in 1937.

Calcutta played an important role in the Second World War. In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces 7th Bombardment Group flew B-24 Liberator bombers from the airport on combat missions over Burma. The airfield was used as a cargo aerial port for the Air Transport Command and was also used as a communication centre for the Tenth Air Force.

Post-independence (1947–2007)

Passenger services grew after the Second World War. Calcutta became a destination for the world's first jet-powered passenger aircraft, the de Havilland Comet, on a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) route to London. Furthermore, in 1964 Indian Airlines introduced the first Indian domestic jet service, using Caravelle jets on the Calcutta–Delhi route. Between the 1940s and 1960s, the airport was served by several major airlines including Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Pan Am, Qantas, Swissair, and SAS.

Due to the introduction of longer-haul aircraft and the poor political climate of Calcutta during the 1960s and also during the year 1971, several airlines discontinued their service to the airport. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War saw a large increase of both refugees and disease in Calcutta, causing more airlines to cease services to the city. In 1975, the airport opened the first dedicated cargo terminal in India.

The 1990s saw new growth for Calcutta Airport, as the Indian aviation industry saw the arrival of new airlines such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara. A new domestic terminal named Terminal 2 was opened in 1995 making the international one Terminal 1, and the airport was renamed in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In 2000, a new international arrival hall was opened.

The year 2005 saw the growth of low-cost carriers in the Indian aviation sector, with new airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo, and Kingfisher Airlines. This led to a dramatic rise in passenger numbers at the airport. Overcrowding in both terminals led to the implementation of a comprehensive modernisation plan for the airport.

Modernisation (2008–present)

The modernisation plan for the Kolkata Airport received the final nod on 14 August 2008. The project, worth ₹1,942.51 crore (US$446.5 million), included the construction of a new terminal building with a passengers handling capacity of 20 million passengers per annum (mppa), expansion of secondary runway, upgradation of the navigation facilities, addition of taxiways and parking bays and . The then existing domestic and international terminals had a capacity of 4.06 mppa and 0.88 mppa, respectively, and were already saturated having handled 6.45 million and 1.01 million passengers in 2007–08. During 2003–08, the airport saw a 21.4% growth in domestic traffic and 6.4% growth in international traffic with further traffic growth of 19% per annum expected till 2011–12. A series of approvals were granted between April 2007 and May 2008 from multiple authorities for the project.

Meanwhile, the secondary runway was to be extended to 3,239 m (10,627 ft) at a cost of ₹35 crore (US$8.05 million) along with the construction of 11 parking bays and a taxiway at ₹65 crore (US$14.94 million) and the upgradation of infrastructure including Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) equipment at ₹185 crore (US$42.52 million). A fund of ₹40 crore (US$9.19 million) was also allocated to construct a grade separator and connecting the airport with the roadway and railway network of the city. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) would provide 80% of the project fund (₹1554 crore) while the rest would be sought through commercial borrowings. The AAI had already spent ₹32 crore for consultancy and other preparatory work for the project in the fiscal year. The presence of a 119-year-old mosque that lies 30 metres from the secondary runway's northern end meant the runway would be expanded from the southern end.