Vijayawada Airport

Last updated

Vijayawada Airport
Vijayawada Airport 2 (November 2018).jpg
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Airports Authority of India
OperatorAirports Authority of India
Serves Vijayawada
Location Gannavaram, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Elevation  AMSL 82 ft / 25 m
Coordinates 16°31′44″N80°47′45″E / 16.52889°N 80.79583°E / 16.52889; 80.79583
Website Vijayawada Airport
Map
India Andhra Pradesh location map (current).svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
VGA
India location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
VGA
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
08/2611,0003,360 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024)
Passengers1,062,506 (Increase2.svg 9.9%)
Aircraft movements15,214 (Increase2.svg 4.3%)
Cargo tonnage810 (Decrease2.svg 36.5%)
Source: AAI [1] [2] [3]
Name board at airport Vijayawada Airport 7 (November 2018).jpg
Name board at airport

Vijayawada Airport( IATA : VGA, ICAO : VOBZ), officially known as Vijayawada International Airport, is an international airport serving the Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The airport is located at Gannavaram, where National Highway 16 connecting Chennai to Kolkata passes through.

Contents

History

The airfield located at Gannavaram served as an army base during the World War II, after which it was converted into a civilian airport. Air Deccan introduced a daily service between Hyderabad and Vijayawada in September 2003. [9] Until 2011, the airport had only four flights a day operated by Kingfisher Airlines. [10] In 2011, flag carrier Air India and private airlines Spicejet and Jet Airways introduced direct flights to the airport, but the latter terminated its service. Air Costa, a regional airline started operations in October 2013, with Vijayawada as its operational hub, which later suspended services.

To cater to the increasing passenger traffic, the foundation stone for a new interim terminal building was laid in October 2015. [11] The terminal, designed to handle two million passengers per annum was opened on 12 January 2017. It was expected to be sufficient for passenger needs for the next four-five years until a larger integrated terminal was built. [12] After domestic operations were shifted to the interim terminal, the old airport terminal building was closed and was prepared to handle international services. The terminal was equipped with a customs and immigration section and additional facilities and security arrangements. [13]

The Central Government granted international status to the airport on 3 May 2017. [14] However, it was only after the state government offered viability gap funding (VGF) to airlines for operating international flights, that private operator IndiGo bid for the contract to operate two flights a week to Singapore. [15]

On 4 December 2018, Indigo flight 6E 33 departed for Singapore Changi Airport, [16] marking the inaugural international flight for Vijayawada and getting an international footprint for Vijayawada. [17] The flight was terminated in July 2019 after the six-month VGF agreement lapsed and the state government refused to extend the agreement. [18]

Expansion

A brand new integrated terminal building is under construction ever since its foundation stone was laid by the then Minister of Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on 4 December 2018. The 35,000m² (376,700 ft²) steel and glass structure is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of ₹ 611 crores (US$86 million). The new terminal is being designed for peak daily handling of 1,200 (600 domestic and 400 international) passengers, with 24 check-in counters, five conveyor belts, 14 immigration counters, three customs counters, and eight gates and six aerobridges, which can accommodate large widebody aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and Boeing 747. The new terminal's parking facilities will accommodate an additional 1,250 automobiles. [19] [20]

As of July 2024, 48.5% work on the new terminal has been completed and it is expected to be completed by June 2025. [21] [22]

Panorama of new terminal Panorama of Vijayawada Airport 1 (November 2018).jpg
Panorama of new terminal

Facilities

Structure

The airport is spread over 1265 acres. Initially, it was spread over 567, and later 698 acres were pooled from adjoining villages.[ citation needed ] It has 24 parking bays for A320, B737, ATR-72, and Bombardier Q400. [23]

Runways

The airport has one runway:

The airport's runway has been expanded to 3360m from 2270m. It can now handle wide body aircraft like Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A330, Airbus A340 and Airbus A350. [24]

Terminal

The interim terminal spreads over 12,999 square metres and includes a check-in area, arrival hall, meet and greet service staircase, aviation lounge, and baggage pick up area. The lounge is spread over 3,613 square metres. The terminal can handle up to 500 passengers at a time and has 18 check-in counters. [25]

Transport

Vijayawada Airport is located on National Highway 16 which connects Chennai to Kolkata and APSRTC runs AIRPORT Liner City Bus from PNBS, and the airport cab services, Ola Cabs, Uber, Rapido services are available to explore the city and as well as to reach Vijayawada Junction, Pandit Nehru Bus Station, and all major parts of the city and the state.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air India Delhi, Mumbai
Air India Express [26] Bangalore, Hyderabad, Sharjah
Alliance Air Bangalore
IndiGo Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kadapa, Mumbai, Shirdi, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at VGA airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual domestic passenger traffic and aircraft movements at Vijayawada Airport
YearDomestic Passenger trafficDomestic Aircraft movement
PassengersPercent
change		Aircraft
movements		Percent
change
2023–241,025,734 [27] 14,934 [28]
2022–23929,765 [29] 14,300 [30]
2021–22579,111 [31] 8,833 [32]
2020–21434,737 [33] 6,863 [34]
2019–201,125,551 [35] 15,190 [36]
2018–191,178,559 [37] 18,957 [38]
2017–18746,392 [39] 11,999 [40]
2016–17622,354 [41] 10,333 [42]
2015–16398,643 [43] 6,676 [44]
2014–15231,931 [43] NA4,639 [44] NA

Accidents and incidents

See also

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  2. ↑ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
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  22. ↑ "Minister: Vij int'l terminal will be ready by June 2025". The Times of India. 26 July 2024. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  23. ↑ "Vijayawada airport now has 16 Parking Bays". The Hindu. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
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  43. 1 2 "Traffic News for the month of March 2016: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  44. 1 2 "Traffic News for the month of March 2016: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
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