Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport

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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
સરદાર વલ્લભભાઈ પટેલ આંતરરાષ્ટ્રીય હવાઈ મથક
250px
IATA: AMDICAO: VAAH
AMD is located in India airports
AMD
AMD
Location of airport in Gujarat
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Airports Authority of India
Serves
Location Ahmedabad, Gujarat
 India
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 189 ft / 58 m
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Website Official website
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23 11,811 3,599 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (2014-15)
Passenger movements 5,050,433(Increase10.7%)
Aircraft movements 38,797(Decrease8.1%)
Cargo tonnage 59,313(Increase14.9%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) (IATA: AMDICAO: VAAH) is an international airport serving the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The airport is located in Hansol, 9 km (5.6 mi) north of central Ahmedabad. It is named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.

In 2014-15, it handled 5.05 million passengers making it the eighth busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in India. The airport also serves as a focus city for Air India, GoAir, Jet Airways and Spicejet. In 2015, the government started the procedure for the privatization of the airport. The airport is set to be replaced by Dholera International Airport due to expansion constraints.

History

File:Aerial View New Terminal.jpg
Terminal 2 during the construction. Terminals 1 and 3 can be seen on the far left

The airport was set up in 1937, while international operations began in 1992. It was categorised as an International airport on 23 May 2000.[4] In 2010, the new terminal 2 was inaugurated for handling international passengers. A 18 feet (5.5 m) tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was also inaugurated at the airport.[5][6] In 2015, the AAI invited proposals for privatisation of Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur airports.[7]

Structure

The airport currently consists of four terminals: domestic, international, an additional terminal for secondary traffic and a cargo terminal as well. The airport has 45 parking bays and both the international and domestic terminals have four aero-bridges each. The new terminal has been modelled based on Singapore Changi Airport.[8]

The new terminal has a half kilometre long moving walkway, which connects the two terminals.[9] Airports Authority of India (AAI) will construct a new technical block which will enhance the flight handling capacity and provide better control of flights.[10]

Runway

The airport has a single runway that is 3,599 metres (11,808 ft) long.[11]

Air traffic control tower

As part of the airport modernisation process, the AAI announced that it would construct a new Air traffic control (ATC) building that would include a new Airport tower 65 metres (213 ft) in height.[12]

Terminals

Terminal 1

File:Baggage Claim Area.jpg
Baggage Claim area at Terminal 1

Terminal 1 has 32 check-in counters and has an area of 45,000 m2 (480,000 sq ft).

Terminal 2

File:Ahmedabad Airport Terminal 2.jpg
Terminal 2 at Ahmedabad Airport
File:Terminal 2 from inside.jpg
Terminal 2 from inside

T2 was inaugurated on 4 July 2010 and opened for use on 15 September 2010. The terminal won the award for the best Steel Structure at the 2009 edition of the National Structural Steel Design and Construction Awards.[13] The terminal has four aerobridges and 32 check-in counters. With the total floor area of approximately 41,000 sq. meters, this terminal will be able to accommodate around 1,600 passengers at any given time. The new 51,975 sq m apron area can cater for the parking of 9 A-321 and 4 ATR-72 type of aircraft.

Cargo Terminal

The airport handled 51,637 tonnes of cargo, inclusive of Gold and Silver in 2013-14. 60% of the cargo comes from Domestic sources.[14] In 2009, 3,685 square metres (39,670 sq ft) of land was leased for a period of seven years out by the AAI to Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation to set up a center for perishable cargo. However, due to a government policy that prevented third party operations at airports run by the AAI, the CPC was not in use until July 2014, when the minister of state for civil aviation announced that the government had issued a No Objection Certificate for commencement of operations.[15] In 2014, it was announced that the airport would be getting a dedicated cargo terminal which is expected to come up at Terminal 3.[14]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Terminal
Air Arabia Sharjah 2
Air Costa Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur 1
Air India Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai 1
Air India Kuwait, London–Heathrow, Newark 2
Emirates Dubai–International 2
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi 2
flydubai Dubai–International 2
GoAir Delhi, Goa, Pune, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai 1
IndiGo Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Raipur, Thiruvananthapuram 1
Jet Airways Chennai, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Bangalore 1
Jet Airways Abu Dhabi 2
Kuwait Airways Kuwait City 2
Qatar Airways Doha 2
Singapore Airlines Singapore 2
SpiceJet Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune 1
SpiceJet Dubai–International, Muscat 2
Vistara Delhi 1

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Blue Dart Aviation Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai
Emirates SkyCargo Dubai-Al Maktoum
Qatar Airways Cargo Doha[16]

Connectivity

The Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS) runs bus services to the airport.[17] For the convenience of travelers, there is a prepaid taxi booth at the airport premises. There are also plans to extend the Ahmedabad BRTS and a direct metro rail linking the airport with the city center.

Incidents and accidents

  • Indian Airlines Flight 113 operating from Mumbai to Ahmedabad crashed on its final approach to the airport on 19 October 1988, killing 130 people including all 6 crew members. The flight was cleared for a visual approach into a foggy airport, when it struck trees and a high-tension pylon at a distance of 5 km from Runway 23, before crashing into a field and bursting into flames.
  • Jet Airways Flight 2510, coming in from Indore collapsed on the runway while landing at the airport on 22 July 2010. There were 57 passengers and four crew members on board the ATR flight. Some passengers received minor injuries as the nose wheel reportedly collapsed due to a tyre burst.[18]

See also

References

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External links