Bagdogra Airport

Bagdogra Airport
Airside of Bagdogra Airport
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Owner Indian Air Force
Operator Airports Authority of India
Serves Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling
Location Bagdogra, Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India
Elevation AMSL 126 m / 412 ft
Coordinates 26°40′52″N 088°19′43″E / 26.68111°N 88.32861°E / 26.68111; 88.32861Coordinates: 26°40′52″N 088°19′43″E / 26.68111°N 88.32861°E / 26.68111; 88.32861
Map
IXB
IXB
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,754 9,035 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (April 2017 - March 2018)
Passenger movements 2,255,768 (Increase48.0%)
Aircraft movements 15,954 (Increase37.5%)
Cargo tonnage 4,986 (Increase15.6%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Bagdogra Airport, (IATA: IXB, ICAO: VEBD) is a customs airport located in about 9 km (5.6 mi) west of the city of Siliguri, 45 km (28 mi) away from Jalpaiguri and 65 km (40 mi) away from Darjeeling, the cities which the airport mainly serves, at Bagdogra in Darjeeling district in northern West Bengal, India.[4] It is operated as a civil enclave at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. It is also the gateway airport to the hill stations of Kurseong and Kalimpong and other portions of the North Bengal region in the Indian state of Sikkim, and sees thousands of tourists annually. The airport is a major stop in the region with flights connecting Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Guwahati and has international linkage connecting with Paro, and Bangkok. The airport also has regular helicopter flights to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. The central government of India conferred customs airport status to the airport in 2002 with limited international operations.[5][6] Air traffic at Bagdogra crossed 1 million for the first time growing at 43.6% percent in 2014-15. This is one of the few airports in India with zero sales tax on aviation turbine fuel.[7]

Air Force Station

The airbase is home to the IAF No. 20 Wing, as also to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Mig-21) FL fighter aircraft of the No. 8 Squadron and a Helicopter Unit. Along with the airbase at Hasimara, Alipurduar district; it is responsible for combat air operations over a large area including North Bengal, Sikkim, and if needed, Bhutan. The base caters to all military air traffic for the Indian Army's XXXIII Corps based nearby in Sukna.

Expansion

The state government had handed over 14.5 acres (59,000 m2) of land to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for developing infrastructure for night landing in 2010. AAI also expanded the apron at the same time, enabling the parking of 5 Airbus A320 class aircraft simultaneously.[5] The IAF, which maintains the ATC and runway, gave permission for night landings by civilian aircraft allowing flights past 6 pm in 2013.[8]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
AirAsia India Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata
Air India Delhi, Kolkata
Druk Air Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro
Seasonal: Mumbai
GoAir Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Ahmedabad
IndiGo Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mangalore,Amritsar
Jet Airways Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai
SpiceJet Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kanpur (begins 1 November)
Vistara Delhi, Guwahati

References

  1. ↑ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ↑ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-IV" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  5. 1 2 "Night-landing facility at Bagdogra soon". The Times of India. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "International status to Bagdogra airport hailed". The Times of India. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Bagdogra backs CM flight path- Tax waiver fuels air traffic growth". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "IAF nod for Bagdogra night landing". The Telegraph. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
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