Agartala Airport

Agartala Airport
Side view of the terminal building
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator Airports Authority of India
Serves Agartala, Tripura, India
Location Singerbhil
Elevation AMSL 14 m / 47 ft
Coordinates 23°53′24″N 091°14′32″E / 23.89000°N 91.24222°E / 23.89000; 91.24222Coordinates: 23°53′24″N 091°14′32″E / 23.89000°N 91.24222°E / 23.89000; 91.24222
Website www.aai.aero/en/airports/agartala
Map
IXA
Location of IXA in India
IXA
IXA (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,286 5,500 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2016 - March 2017)
Passengers 1,379,090 (Increase16.5%)
Aircraft movements 10,074 (Decrease13.2%)
Cargo tonnage 5,322 (Decrease12.1%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Agartala Airport, now officially known as Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport,[4][5] [6] [7] (IATA: IXA, ICAO: VEAT) is a domestic airport located 12 kilometres (7 miles) northwest of the city of Agartala, the capital of the state of Tripura in India. It is administered by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).[8] It is the second busiest airport in northeast India after Guwahati and is proposed to be upgraded as an international airport. [9][10]

Air traffic control tower
The terminal as viewed from the apron

History

The airport was designed and built in 1942 by the Maharaja of Tripura Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur. It had one primary runway, 05/23, which is now used as a taxiway to Runway 18/36.

During World War II, the airport was used by the 4th Combat Cargo Group (4th CCG) of the United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force, flying Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft over Burma. The airport was used as a supply point from which the unit air-dropped pallets of supplies and ammunition to the advancing Allied forces on the ground.[11]

The 4th CCG operated from the airport during December 1944 and January 1945, after which it moved to Chittagong.

The airport has experienced international operations in the distant past when Indian Airlines used to fly for various locations like Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport and Khulna in East Pakistan/Bangladesh from Agartala.

In 2015, Airports Authority of India started upgrading the airport to international standards.[12] AAI was spending INR500 crore on upgrade including the new terminal building with all the work to be completed by fy 2019-20 (c. Dec 2017).[13]

Airlines and destinations

IndiGo Airbus A320 VT-IFI at the tarmac on 21 February 2017.
AirlinesDestinations
Air India Kolkata
IndiGo Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Imphal, Kolkata

Accidents and incidents

  • 7 June 1970: A Fokker F27 of Indian Airlines flying with 34 passengers and 4 crew members overran the runway at Agartala after it touched down at a higher than normal speed 2,775 feet from the threshold; however, none of the passengers or crew members died. The airplane was later written off.[14]

See also

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. ↑ "Change of name of Agartala Airport" (PDF). EGazette. Government of India. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ↑ https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/agartala-airport-to-be-named-after-maharaja-bir-bikram-manikya-kishore/article24330340.ece
  6. ↑ https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/north-east/agartala-airport-to-be-named-after-king/cid/1453829
  7. ↑ https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/agartala-airport-renamed-after-tripuras-last-king-250631.htm
  8. ↑ "Civil Airport Agartala". airportsindia.org.in. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Agartala airport to be made international airport". 24 November 2014.
  10. ↑ "News article". articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com.
  11. ↑ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
  12. ↑ "Upgradation of Agartala airport to start in Feb 2016: Minister - Times of India".
  13. ↑ Steps taken to strengthen North East states air connectivity: Authority of India, Economic Times, 18 Dec 2017.
  14. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Agartala-Singerbhil Airport profile - Aviation Safety Network". www.aviation-safety.net.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.