Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport

Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport
IATA: ATQ ICAO: VIAR
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Amritsar
Location	Raja Sansi, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Opened	1930;93 years ago (1930)
Focus city for	IndiGo Air India SpiceJet
Elevation  AMSL	230 m / 756 ft
Coordinates	31°42′28″N074°47′57″E / 31.70778°N 74.79917°E / 31.70778; 74.79917
Website	Amritsar Airport
Map
ATQ Location of airport in Punjab Show map of Punjab ATQ ATQ (India) Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 16/34 3,657 12,000 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 – March 2023)
Passengers 2,516,518 ( 82.1%) Aircraft movements 19,521 ( 44.6%) Cargo tonnage 2,239 ( 41.9%)
Source: AAI [1] [2] [3]

Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport( IATA : ATQ, ICAO : VIAR) is an international airport serving Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is located at Raja Sansi, 11 km (7 mi) north-west from the city centre. It is named after Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru and the founder of Amritsar. The airport is the largest and the busiest airport of Punjab. It is the second-largest airport in Northern India after Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. ^[4] The airport was the 3rd fastest-growing airport in India during the fiscal year 2017–18. ^[5] It is a hub of cargo movements, domestically and internationally. ^[6] The airport is ranked the 6th-best regional airport in India and Central Asia in 2019 and 2020 by Skytrax. ^[7] The airport is awarded as the best airport in Asia-Pacific in 2020 (2 to 5 million passengers per annum) by Airports Council International. ^[8]

History

In 1930, the airport was established during the British era, and was used for VVIP movements. After independence, it got connected with Delhi and Srinagar. The first international flight to Kabul was launched in 1960.^{[ citation needed ]} In January 1982, Air India started a flight from Bombay to Birmingham that stopped in Delhi, Amritsar and Moscow. The service aboard Boeing 707s linked the large North Indian population in the West Midlands to its homeland. ^{[9] [10]} The airline terminated it in October 1984 amid the Punjab insurgency. ^{[11] [12]}

In May 2005, Air India commenced service to Toronto via Birmingham using Boeing 777s. ^{[13] [14]} The stopover changed to London's Heathrow Airport three years later. ^[15] In October 2010, the carrier replaced the route with a direct flight from its Delhi hub to Toronto. ^{[16] [17]} The following month, the airport's name was changed to Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport.^{[ citation needed ]} British Midland International (BMI) launched a flight to London-Heathrow via Almaty in October 2011. The company flew the route with an Airbus A330. ^{[18] [19]} The link ceased in October 2012 as a consequence of the merger between BMI and British Airways. ^{[16] [20]} In February 2018, Air India resumed nonstop service to Birmingham on Boeing 787s. ^{[21] [22]}

Facilities

Duty free shop at the airport

In July 2001, the construction of the first phase of the terminal building started, along with the extension of the existing runway, construction of a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and other works. The construction of all Phase-1 works was completed in June 2006. The arrivals section of the terminal building was inaugurated in September 2005, and the departures section was made operational in March 2006. Over the years, the old terminals (existing and Phase-1) were systematically razed, paving way for a new integrated terminal building (Phase-2). The terminal is made with built-in glass and steel and is equipped with an In-line X-ray baggage inspection and conveyor system, Flight Information Display System (FIDS), Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), and CCTV surveillance, which were inaugurated on 25 February 2009, with an area of approximately 40,175 square metres (432,440 sq ft), marking an improvement over the earlier 12,770-square-metre (137,500 sq ft) facility. The integrated building is a blend of modern and Indian designs, constructed in glass and steel with Indian style arches and colours. In June 2016, the airport registered a 59.6% growth of international passenger traffic. ^[23]

The integrated terminal building has four jetbridges, an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers with a peak hour capacity of 1,200 passengers. It has 30 check-in counters, 4 X-ray scanners (for baggage), 26 immigration counters, 10 custom counters, 12 security check booths, and 4 conveyor belts for arrivals. The apron has been extended to cater for parking of a total of 25 aircraft (8 Category 'E', 3 Category 'D' and 13 Category 'C' types of aircraft & 1 category 'E' for cargo) from the earlier capacity of 15 aircraft and strengthened for parking of Category 'C' type of aircraft. An additional apron has also been constructed in between the taxiway and the runway. The departure and arrival halls operate duty-free shops, foreign currency exchange service, restaurants and other shops for the convenience of departing passengers. ^[24] The airport registered India's highest passenger growth of over 48% for the year 2017–2018. ^[25] Currently, flights coming in the airport connect it directly to over 20 destinations across India and other countries.

Terminal

Aerial view of the airport's terminal

The airport is spread over an area of 40,000 sq.m., with 30 check-in counters, 26 immigration counters, 12 custom counters, and 2 security check booths, and can handle 600 passengers at arrivals and 600 passengers at departures. It has the capacity to serve more than 2.5 million passengers per year. It has four jetbridges

Runways

The airport's runway is equipped with CAT III-B ILS, which makes the airport suitable for aircraft landing in poor weather conditions and visibility. It was installed in 2016–17, when the runway underwent a mass upgrade, at a cost of ₹ 150 crore, and in October 2017, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued Low Visibility Procedures (LVP), thus allowing landing at within 50 m visual range. ^{[26] [27] [28] [29]} Before the installation of CAT III ILS, CAT II ILS was installed in December 2011 and reduced the visibility requirement for an aircraft landing at the airport on Runway 34, from the existing 650 metres to 350 metres, thus benefiting airlines in increased safety and avoiding diversions to other airports, resulting in better operational and environmental efficiencies.

Airlines and destinations

Apron area of the airport

Departures area of the airport

Arrivals area of the airport

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Birmingham, Delhi, London–Gatwick, [30] Mumbai [31]
Air India Express	Dubai–International, Sharjah
AirAsia X	Kuala Lumpur–International [32]
Alliance Air	Delhi [33]
Batik Air Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur–International
IndiGo	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Goa–Mopa, [34] Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Pune, Sharjah, Srinagar
Malaysia Airlines	Kuala Lumpur–International (begins 10 November 2023) [35]
Neos	Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino 1 , Verona (begins 31 October 2023) [36] Seasonal: Malé [37]
Qatar Airways	Doha
Scoot	Singapore
SpiceJet	Dubai–International, Jaipur, Patna Seasonal: Bergamo 1 , [38] Rome–Fiumicino 1 [39]
Vistara	Delhi

Note:

• ^1 : These flights make an intermediate stop in Central Asia en route to the listed destination. However, the airlines do not have rights to carry passengers solely between the origin or destination and the intermediate stop ^[40]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at ATQ airport. See Wikidata query.

Future plans

To stimulate the growing demands and future traffic, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed to expand the current integrated passenger terminal at a cost of ₹ 240 crore, which will increase the existing handling capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year to 5.5 million passengers per year. Along with this, an additional ₹ 60 crore were invested for the construction of another apron, taxiways and upgrading of the terminal, which are now completed.

The airport is also proposed to be leased out for privatization on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis, along with 5 other major airports operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). With privatization, the infrastructure at the airport is expected to rapidly improve further.

With the completion of the under-construction Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway, the travel time from Amritsar to Delhi Airport will be cut in half from the current over 8 hours to about 4 hours. ^[41] This may result in reduction in passenger growth on this route, but will give better road connectivity between the city and the National Capital.

Ground transport

Road

The airport is connected by 4-lane National Highway 354, which runs from Amritsar to Ajnala. Taxis can be taken from the taxi stand at the airport. Both Ola Cabs and Uber are available in the city. Auto rickshaws and local buses also connect the city to the airport. The under-construction Delhi—Amritsar—Katra Expressway will have the first branch from Delhi to the airport, and the second branch to Katra in Jammu and Kashmir, which will improve the connectivity further. ^[42]

Metrobus

The airport is connected by Route 501 of Amritsar Metrobus, which connects it directly to Amritsar Junction, Golden Temple and many other locations in the network of Amritsar Metrobus. It operates at a frequency of every 10–15 minutes. ^{[43] [44]}

See also

• Aviation in India
• Golden Temple
• Amritsar Metrobus
• Amritsar Ring Road
• List of airports in India
• List of the busiest airports in India

References

1. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
2. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
3. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
4. Airports Authority of India [@AAI_Official] (7 September 2020). "#AAI's Amritsar Airport @aaiasrairport, the second largest airport of Northern Region, was strategically set up to ease @DelhiAirport's operational load.#IconicAirportTerminals t.co/fZG66TAA3d" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 January 2021– via Twitter.
5. C, D. "Amritsar beats all international Airports in India with 83.5% growth in domestic traffic - Asian Independent". Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
6. Airports Authority of India [@AAI_Official] (11 December 2020). "#AAI's Amritsar @aaiasrairport has been a hub of cargo movements, domestically and internationally. The airport continues to thrive in delivering essentials and other necessary items across the globe, smoothly. #DeliveringHappiness t.co/lpyjfSWpZG" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 January 2021– via Twitter.
7. "The World's Best Regional Airports 2021".
8. "2020 - Best Airport by Size and Region". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
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10. "Flying Elmdon-to-India, first stop Moscow". Sandwell Evening Mail. 2 January 1982. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
11. Singh, Prabhjot (11 December 2000). "Rajasansi airport: Ramoowalia blames CM". The Tribune . Chandigarh. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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14. "Air India wants to boost Brum route". The Birmingham Post. 21 April 2005. Gale   A131832766.
15. "Air India moves Toronto, Amritsar flights via London". Press Trust of India. 23 September 2008. Gale   A185462696.
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24. Press Release By PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47938
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27. "Airports Authority of India". aai.aero. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
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29. "Low Visibility Procedures" (PDF). 9 December 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
30. "Air India launches weekly flights to London's Gatwick, Heathrow Airport". The Economic Times. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
31. "Air India to start daily flights between Amritsar and Mumbai with effect from May 20". JetArena. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
32. "AirAsia X Resumes Amritsar Service From Sep 2023". AeroRoutes. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
33. "Alliance Air to commence Delhi-Amritsar service in Mar-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
34. "INDIGO 1H23 DOMESTIC ROUTES ADDITION SUMMARY – 05MAR23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
35. "MALAYSIA AIRLINES ADDS AMRITSAR SERVICE FROM NOV 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
36. Velani, Bhavya (30 July 2023). "Neos Air Announces New Flights between Amritsar and Verona – Exclusive". Aviation A2Z. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
37. Casey, David (7 September 2022). "ITA Adds India and Japan Routes". Routes Online. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
38. "SpiceJet starts one-stop flight to Italy from Amritsar". The Times of India. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
39. "SpiceJet starts one-stop flight to Italy from Amritsar". The Times of India. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
40. "SpiceJet starts one-stop flight to Italy from Amritsar". The Times of India. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022..
41. "अमृतसर हवाईअड्डे का 300 करोड़ से विकास होगा".
42. "अमृतसर हवाईअड्डे का 300 करोड़ से विकास होगा". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
43. "एयरपोर्ट से घी मंडी तक भी जाएगी बीआरटीएस बस, 15 रुपये होगा किराया".
44. "Amritsar Metro Bus Services".

External links

Media related to Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at Wikimedia Commons