How to Pick the Nearest Airport to Shirdi for Your Trip

Shirdi has its own airport now, yet most pilgrims still land at Pune or Mumbai. The nearest airport to Shirdi is only 14 km from the temple, but proximity is not always the reason to choose it.

Shirdi has had its own airport since 2017, and plenty of pilgrims still do not know it exists. If you are still shaping the trip, our Shirdi Sai Baba travel guide covers the aartis and queue timings.

This page answers the other half. The nearest airport to Shirdi is close enough to reach the temple in half an hour, yet it is not automatically the right choice for every traveller.

Quick Answer

1. Shirdi Airport sits about 14 km from the temple, roughly 25 minutes by road
2. Pune and Mumbai have far more flights but add a four to six hour drive
3. Aurangabad works well if you are also visiting Ellora or Grishneshwar
4. Sainagar Shirdi railway station is only 3 km from the temple
5. Flight frequency, not distance, is what usually decides the answer
6. Book six to eight weeks ahead for festival dates, when fares climb sharply
7. Sainagar Shirdi station beats every airport on distance if a train suits you

Which Airport Is Closest To Shirdi?

Shirdi Airport, coded SAG, is the nearest airport to Shirdi at about 14 km from the Sai Baba temple. It sits at Kakadi village, south west of the town, and a taxi covers the run in 25 to 35 minutes on an ordinary day.

Maharashtra’s tourism department confirms the 14 km figure and lists regular services to cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. The catch is frequency. SAG runs a thin schedule compared with the metros, and routes are added and dropped season by season.

That single fact reshapes the whole decision. A closer airport with three flights a week can easily cost you more time than a distant one with thirty a day.

The airport is also small by design. There is one integrated terminal, limited food, and no lounge worth the name, so build in less waiting time than you would at a metro. A runway extension and a larger terminal have been approved by the state, which should widen the schedule over time.

How Do The Five Airports Compare?

Five airports realistically serve Shirdi. The nearest airport to Shirdi wins on driving time by a wide margin, while the metros win on choice, price and reliability.

Aurangabad, now officially Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, deserves more attention than it gets. It puts Ellora, the Ajanta caves and Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga on your route without a detour, which turns a plain darshan trip into a three day circuit. Nashik is closer still but has very few scheduled services, so it rarely works out in practice.

Distances vary by a few kilometres between sources because they measure from different points in Shirdi town. Treat these as planning figures and confirm with your operator. Most of our travellers land at Pune on the Shirdi 1N/2D via Pune package, which trades the longer drive for early morning departures and dependable fares.

Should You Fly Into Pune Or Mumbai Instead?

Often, yes. Pune and Mumbai between them offer dozens of daily departures from every major Indian city, which means cheaper fares, more timing choices, and a fallback if a flight is cancelled.

Pune is the better of the two for most pilgrims. The drive is shorter by about an hour, Pune airport is easier to clear, and Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga sits conveniently on the route. Mumbai makes sense mainly for international arrivals or when Pune fares spike.

Cost is the other half of it. Metro routes are competitive, so fares from Bengaluru, Chennai or Hyderabad into Pune often undercut the same day’s fare into the nearest airport to Shirdi by a useful margin. Two or three thousand rupees a head across a family covers the car easily.

The trade is simple:

1. Choose Shirdi Airport when a direct flight matches your dates and the fare is sensible
2. Choose Pune when you want flexibility, a Jyotirlinga stop, or a better price
3. Choose Mumbai when you are landing from abroad or Pune is sold out
4. Choose Aurangabad when Ellora, Ajanta or Grishneshwar are on the itinerary

Groups on the Shirdi 1N/2D via Mumbai package usually pick that route for the flight options rather than the drive.

How Do You Reach Shirdi By Flight From Bangalore?

You have two workable answers for how to reach Shirdi by flight from Bangalore: a direct service into SAG when one is operating, or a flight to Pune followed by a road transfer of four to five hours.

Direct Bengaluru to Shirdi flights have run on and off over the years, so check current schedules rather than assuming. When they are not flying, Pune is the standard substitute and the one most operators build around. A Bangalore to Shirdi flight package will normally quote the Pune routing for exactly this reason.

Plan the arrival hour carefully. An early morning landing at Pune gets you to Shirdi by afternoon with darshan still possible the same day, while an evening flight costs you a full day and a second night of hotel.

Return legs deserve the same thought. A late night departure from Pune lets you use the final morning for Shani Shingnapur or a Jyotirlinga instead of watching the clock at a boarding gate.

Two things South Indian pilgrims tend to miss. Thursday is the busiest darshan day in Shirdi, so a Wednesday arrival beats a Thursday one for queue length.

Fares into every airport near the town also climb steeply around Guru Purnima, Dussehra and Ram Navami. Booking six to eight weeks ahead of those dates pays for itself.

How Do You Get From The Airport To The Temple?

Take a prepaid taxi, a private cab, or the state bus. From the nearest airport to Shirdi the ride is short enough that almost everyone takes a taxi, and the stands sit directly outside arrivals.

1. Prepaid taxi or private cab from SAG, roughly 25 to 35 minutes to the temple area, with fixed rates displayed at the counter
2. MSRTC shuttle buses timed to major flight arrivals, far cheaper but slower
3. Hotel pickup, which most ashrams and hotels on the temple road arrange on request if you share your flight number in advance
4. From Pune or Mumbai, a pre booked vehicle rather than an airport taxi, since the drive is long

Prepaid counters at the nearest airport to Shirdi post fixed rates, which saves the usual haggling, and app based cabs are patchy at Kakadi because the airport sits outside the main town. Carry the hotel address in Marathi or Hindi if you are arriving without a booked vehicle.

If you are landing late or travelling with elderly parents, a pre arranged transfer is worth the small premium. The Direct Shirdi package includes the vehicle from landing to departure, so nobody negotiates at a taxi stand after midnight.

How Do You Decide For Your Dates?

Pick the airport by what is flying on your dates, not by the map. The shortest transfer only helps if a flight exists at a workable hour, and that changes season to season.

Our team checks live fares across all five before quoting, and the Maharashtra tour packages build the transfer in whether you land at the nearest airport to Shirdi or drive from Pune.

Send us your dates and group size, and we will compare the live fares across all five airports and tell you which routing works out cheaper once the transfer is counted in.