How many airports in Mumbai?

I am going to be booking some flights for my daughters, who will first be going to Mumbai, then to Bangalore from there.
Before making the flight bookings, I need to know how many airports there are in Mumbai and which is the main one so that I can make bookings for the right airport.

 

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

The Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport is the main commercial airport of Mumbai. In the past, there were two airports in the city, namely: the Santa Cruz Domestic Airport and the Sahar International Airport. These two airports were fused into one, which is now regarded as the Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport. Some refer to the Domestic Terminal as the Santa Cruz Airport and the International Terminal as the Sahar Airport, so they are sometimes seen as two separate airports.

Terminal 1 (Domestic) of Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport​

To clarify as well, there's another non-commercial airport in the city, which is the Juhu Aerodrome. Technically, it is an airport as it has two intersecting runways but this aerodrome is not used for commercial flights. It is mainly used by private companies and other rich individuals. But there are no commercial airlines operating from it as of now.

Terminal 2 (International) of Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport​

So let us go back to the Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport, located in the suburban areas of Santa Cruz and Sahar. As mentioned above, the airport has two terminals, one for domestic flights and another for international flights. These two terminals are about five kilometres away from each other and so walking the distance is not advisable. Further, we can divide the terminals into subdivisions, which are the following:

Subdivisions of Domestic Terminal (Santa Cruz Airport)

Domestic Terminal or Terminal 1 Subdivisions	Functions
Terminal 1A	Used by Air India and Go Air for departures and arrivals
Terminal 1B	Used by Go Air, Spice Jet and Indigo for departures and arrivals
Terminal 1C	Used for boarding flights only

Subdivisions of International Terminal (Sahar Airport)

International Terminal or Terminal 2 Subdivisions	Functions
Level 1	Used for ground services like baggage handling and passenger concerns
Level 2	Used by Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara for domestic arrivals
Level 3	Used by Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara for domestic departures
Level 4	Used by Air India Express and Air India Regional for international arrivals and departures

The Domestic Terminal or Terminal 1 of the Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport is mainly used for domestic flights. Terminals 1A and 1B are used for the domestic departures and arrivals of the different airlines in the airport. On the other hand, the Terminal 1C is just for boarding flights in between the terminals. Terminal 1C also has a food court and serves as the lounge for passengers in-between flights. The Domestic Terminal is regarded as the more busy airport during day time.

The International Terminal or Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapathi Shivaji International Airport is used for both international and domestic flights. Level 1 of the terminal is mainly for ground transport services like prepaid taxi counters, baggage handling, car rentals and related services. Level 2 is mainly for arrivals of domestic flights. Level 3 is mainly for departures of domestic flights. And lastly, Level 4 is for arrivals and departures of international flights. In contrast to the other terminal, Terminal 2 is more busy during evening time.

There you go, I hope this helps you!