3. Means of Air Transport
The means of air transport are the latest. They brought to reality man’s dream to fly like birds. The first successful aeroplane was built in 1903 by two American brothers Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright. In such a short period, air travel has become the most favourite the world over.
There is an extensive network of air transport in the world today. Air travel first started in Britain, France and USA. At present, a variety of aeroplanes are used for air transport. Many of them can fly over very long distances at a speed more than that of sound. Aeroplanes are used for carrying both passengers as well as cargo. They save on time, but they are expensive, as they need airports to take off and land, and burn a large quantity of fuel. The densest network of airways is found in Western Europe and North America. London, Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, New York, Jeddah, New Delhi etc., are major international airports in the world. The Atlanta Airport is the busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic.
There is a large network of airways in India. The government airline in India is called Indian. It operates both domestic and international flights. Domestic flights operate within the country while international flights connect different countries. Besides the Indian, there are a number of private airlines in India, such as Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet etc. Helicopter service is also operated in some parts of the country, such as Pawan Hans.
There are several international airports in India, the major ones of them are at Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Amritsar and Thiruvananthapuram. In addition, there are over 100 minor airports in the country, while effort is being made to start airports in more cities.