India’s newest airport terminals have moved well past plain functional buildings. Bengaluru’s garden terminal, Navi Mumbai’s lotus-shaped roof, Mumbai’s peacock-inspired screens and Port Blair’s shell-shaped building are among the ten most striking in the country, each built around a local design idea rather than a generic template. Here is what makes each one worth a slower walk through, with verified design facts.
Updated October 2026 · HappyFares
A good terminal is normally something you rush through, but a handful of Indian airports are now designed to be looked at, not just walked past. Here are ten, with the design facts behind them.
Which south and west Indian terminals stand out?
Bengaluru’s Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill as a “terminal in a garden,” with passageways lined by trees, ponds and hanging plants, and it was pre-certified as the world’s largest LEED Platinum terminal before it even opened. Mumbai’s Terminal 2 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, also an SOM design, draws on the peacock, India’s national bird, through its intricate jali window screens that filter daylight into the concourses.
Navi Mumbai International Airport, which began commercial flights in December 2025, was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects around a lotus-inspired terminal form. Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport uses a leaf motif in its skylights as a nod to Indian decorative tradition, and its terminal has earned LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council for its eco-friendly design.
What about Delhi, Goa and Rajkot?
Delhi’s redeveloped Terminal 1 reopened in 2024 after a major expansion that roughly doubled its capacity, combining domestic arrivals and departures under one roof with a new, larger building. Goa’s Manohar International Airport at Mopa, designed by the Nordic Office of Architecture, takes its cues from local Goan craft, using Azulejo-style tiles and a layout that nods to Goan architecture rather than a standard glass box. Rajkot’s Hirasar airport, inaugurated in 2023, wears Gujarat’s visual culture on its facade, with stone jalis and arch patterns drawing on local Lippan art and dandiya movement.
Which northeast and island terminals are worth the detour?
Port Blair’s Veer Savarkar International Airport got a new integrated terminal in 2023, built as a large shell-shaped structure meant to evoke the sea and islands around it, with two sweeping 120-metre columnless spans and cable-net glazing. Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport terminal, opened in 2022, uses a sweeping roofline inspired by Tripura’s hilly terrain and a bamboo-pattern lattice facade that reflects local craft traditions.
Where do the views matter more than the building?
Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport sits above 3,250 metres, among the highest commercial airports anywhere, and its approach through the Himalayas is itself the main attraction, with a new terminal being designed around Ladakhi Buddhist architectural themes. Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport draws its interior design from the city’s temples and ghats, and a major expansion is under way to add a new terminal building alongside the existing one.
What about Noida’s new Jewar airport?
Noida International Airport at Jewar opened its first phase in 2026 and began commercial flights that June. Its terminal, designed by a consortium including Grimshaw, Nordic Office of Architecture and Haptic, was planned around a flowing, river-like roof and a forecourt inspired by the ghats of Varanasi and Haridwar, with ornamental lattice screens drawing on Indian architectural tradition. It is still building out further phases, so parts of the design will keep evolving.
Why are so many new Indian terminals built around a local theme?
Look across this list and a pattern stands out: almost none of these terminals use a generic international template. Instead, each one leans on something specific to its state, a garden city, a river, a craft tradition, a hill range, or a shape tied to the coastline nearby. That is partly a design choice by the architects involved, and partly a deliberate brief from the airport operators and the Airports Authority of India, who have pushed newer greenfield and expansion projects to reflect the region they sit in rather than look interchangeable with any other airport in the world. The result is that arriving early, once an inconvenience, is increasingly a reason to walk around rather than sit at the gate.
None of this changes how you should plan your actual journey through the airport. Build in your usual buffer for check-in, security and immigration where it applies, and treat the architecture as a bonus once you are through, not a reason to arrive later than you otherwise would.
Common Questions
Is Bengaluru’s airport really built like a garden?
Yes. Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport was designed around the idea of a terminal inside a garden, with real plants, water features and hanging greenery along its passenger routes, and it earned LEED Platinum pre-certification as a result.
Which Indian airport has a lotus-shaped terminal?
Navi Mumbai International Airport, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, is built around a lotus-inspired terminal form, and it started commercial operations in December 2025.
Why does Port Blair’s airport look like a shell?
Its new integrated terminal, inaugurated in 2023, was deliberately designed as a shell-shaped structure to evoke the sea and the islands of the Andaman and Nicobar group.
Has Noida’s Jewar airport opened yet?
Yes. Its first phase opened in 2026, with commercial flights beginning that June, though the airport is still being built out in further phases.
Which Indian airport has the most dramatic approach by air?
Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, set high in the Himalayas, is widely regarded as having one of the most scenic approaches of any commercial airport in India.
Do any of these airports have official green building certification?
Yes. Bengaluru’s Terminal 2 and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport terminal have both received LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council.
Flying into any of these cities? Search your route on HappyFares to compare fares, with no domestic convenience fee and a price-match guarantee on eligible fares.
Terminal openings, phases and facilities change as airports expand. Confirm current status with the airport operator or AAI before you travel.
