Jodhpur Airport

Jodhpur Airport
IATA: JDH ICAO: VIJO
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Jodhpur
Location	Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Elevation  AMSL	216 m / 710 ft
Coordinates	26°15′26″N073°03′06″E / 26.25722°N 73.05167°E / 26.25722; 73.05167
Website	Jodhpur Airport
Map
JDH Show map of Rajasthan JDH Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 2,744 9,002 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024)
Passengers 1,091,127 ( 21.3%) Aircraft movements 9,037 ( 19.3%) Cargo tonnage 108
Source: AAI [1] [2] [3]

Jodhpur Airport( IATA : JDH, ICAO : VIJO) is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and shares its airside with the Jodhpur Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force.

The Government of Rajasthan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Air Force for the expansion of the passenger terminal in March 2017, wherein 37 acres of IAF land would be transferred to AAI. ^[4] In May 2021, it was transferred by IAF to AAI through Jodhpur Development Authority (JoDA), and the terminal was built. ^[5] It is the 44th busiest airport in India, handling more than half a million passengers in FY 2018–2019.

History

The Jodhpur Flying Club was set up by Maharaja Umaid Singh in the 1920s at a small airfield near his Chittar Palace (Umaid Bhavan Palace) in Jodhpur. Through the next three decades, the airfield grew in stature, being used as an airfield for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. ^[6] The airfield was upgraded in 1950 after the formation of the Royal Indian Air Force (which later became the Indian Air Force). ^[7] Jodhpur was home to the IAF's Air Force Flying College until the 1965 war. ^[8]

Structure

The airport's 12-acre civil enclave contains a terminal building measuring a built-up area of 5,690 m², which is capable of handling 430 passengers per hour. The terminal has seven check-in counters and three boarding gates. The adjoining concrete apron measures 140 by 100 metres and has three parking bays that can cater to two Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 type aircraft simultaneously.

The runway is 2,743 metres long and 45 metres wide. The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities and an Instrument Landing System (ILS) as well as navigational facilities like DVOR/DME and an NDB. ^[9]

Jodhpur Air Force Station

Squadrons of HAL Dhruv, Mikoyan MiG-27, Mil Mi-17 and Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft are based here. It was active during the Kargil War of 1999. There is also a battalion of the Garud Commando Force here.

On 3 October 2022, IAF inducted HAL Prachand into 143 Helicopter Unit at Jodhpur Air Force Station. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

HAL Prachand In Jodhpur AFS

Airlines and destinations

Interior of the airport

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai
IndiGo	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, [14] Mumbai, Pune [15]
Star Air	Belgaum

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at JDH airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

• Airports in India
• List of busiest airports in India by passenger traffic

References

1. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
2. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
3. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
4. "MoU inked to expand Jodhpur airport". The Times of India . 27 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
5. "IAF barters land for expansion of Jodhpur airport | Jaipur News - Times of India". The Times of India .
6. The History of the Jodhpur Flying Club, CGPublishing, retrieved 30 November 2011
7. "South Asia's Most Powerful Air Base at Jodhpur". Defence News. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
8. "Side Show in the South-Western Sector". Bharat Rakshak.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
9. "AAI website". Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
10. Peri, Dinakar (3 October 2022). "IAF inducts indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 3 October 2022.
11. "Made-in-India attack helicopters inducted; special moment: PM Modi". The Indian Express. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
12. "In Pics: Air force inducts India-made light combat helicopter Prachand in Jodhpur". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
13. "From LCH Prachand to INS Vikrant, how 'Make in India' defence is transforming the nation". Firstpost. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
14. "IndiGo announces new Jodhpur-Jaipur flight to boost domestic connectivity". Moneycontrol. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
15. Pall, Samreen (13 June 2023). "Pune Airport: Indigo Starts Six New Flights; Check Routes, Fare and More". News18. Retrieved 13 June 2023.

External links

• Jodhpur Airport webpage at official Airports Authority of India web site.
• Times of India - "Aviator Maharaja"
• Dainik Bhasker - "spicejet may start ten flights from jodhpur"