Wings India-2026 on Thursday crowned Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as the country’s best, while the four-day event also saw Air India placing fresh order for 30 Boeing aircraft including the 737-8 and 737-10 models. Separately, Air India and Airbus signed an agreement to convert 15 A321 neo orders into the longer-range A321XLR variant, enabling the airline to launch new non-stop international routes with improved fuel efficiency.At the awards ceremony organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Delhi’s IGI Airport, operated by Delhi International Airport Limited, was named airport of the year.Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport topped the ‘above-25 million passengers per annum (MMPA)’ category, while the Pune airport won in the 10-25 MPPA segment.Lucknow International Airport Limited was recognised in the ‘5-10 MPPA’ category, and Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair, in the ‘under-5 MPPA’ bracket.Hollongi Airport in Itanagar was named the best airport under the UDAN regional connectivity scheme. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu presented the awards.Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was named the best contributor to Atmanirbhar Bharat, while Boeing India and Airbus were recognised for ecosystem acceleration and aircraft component manufacturing.Delhi airport also won the sustainability champion award, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was named the innovation champion.The AAI signed an agreement with Airports Council International for the Airports Management Professional Accreditation Programme, under which over 115 aviation professionals will be trained over five years to build a globally deployable leadership pool.Officials said business and general aviation was entering a phase of sharp expansion.Asangba Chuba Ao, Joint Secretary in the Civil Aviation Ministry, said helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, regional transport aircraft and business aviation were now being treated as distinct segments, reflecting changing demand patterns.Regional cooperation was featured, with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation signing a preliminary agreement with Flamingo Aerospace to supply six Il-114-300 turboprop aircraft from 2028, alongside plans to build assembly and MRO capabilities in India.The event also saw the release of a KPMG-FICCI report outlining a roadmap for India to evolve from a large aviation market into a global aviation ecosystem leader by 2047.