Begumpet Airport

Begumpet Airport (IATA: BPM, ICAO: VOHY) in Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Old Airport, is a civil enclave located in Begumpet. The airport is home to the Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA), the Telangana State Aviation Academy and the Begumpet Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force.[1] Begumpet used to be the only international airport of Hyderabad until the opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on 23 March 2008, which ceased all civil operations. Final and last flight to take off was a Singapore Airlines flight at 23:40 on 22 March 2008.[2]

Begumpet Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OwnerBuilt by: Nawabs
OperatorAirports Authority of India
LocationHyderabad, Telangana, India
Elevation AMSL531 m / 1,742 ft
Coordinates17°27′11″N 078°28′03″E
Websiteaai.aero/allAirports/...
Map
BPM
Location of airport in Telangana
BPM
BPM (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 3,231 10,600 Asphalt

History
Tata Airlines started as an air mail service from Karachi to Madras via Hyderabad Deccan
A Jet Airways civilian aircraft parked at the airport

Begumpet Airport was established in 1930 by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, and Berar with the formation of Hyderabad Aero Club. Initially, it was used by the Nizam of the Hyderabad state as a domestic and international airport for the Nizam's Deccan Airways, one of the premier and the earliest airline in British India. The terminal building was created in 1937.[3] A new terminal building came up on the south side in 1972 and later became the main airport. The older terminal hitherto was referred to as "Old Airport" at Begumpet. The new terminal building consisted of two check-in terminals; Rajiv Gandhi International and NTR National with a common arrival module.

At the time of its closure, Begumpet was the 6th busiest airport in India. It had 13 parking bays in operation around the terminal block and five "night parking bays" on the northern side next to the old block, sufficient to handle the A320 and Boeing 737. The airport had limited night landing facilities and only 30% of Andhra Pradesh's international traffic flowed through the airport due to the lack of direct flights.[4]

Begumpet Airport's capacity had reportedly been exceeded in both domestic and international areas due to the rate of growth in passenger traffic, estimated at 45% p.a., the highest among Indian airports. The airport handled 20 000 passengers daily with about 300 aircraft movements of 16 international and 10 domestic airlines. US President Bill Clinton's Air Force One landed and took off from Begumpet during his visit to Hyderabad in early 2000.

Civil aviation airshow

Begumpet Airport hosts India Aviation, India's first civilian air show. This biennial event, organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in collaboration with FICCI, was first held 15–18 October 2008. The second edition, India Aviation 2010, was organised from 3–7 March 2010. The partner country in the second edition was France, and the focus country for the event was the USA. The event was bigger in magnitude to its predecessor. More than 200 exhibitors participated and the exhibition covered a gross area of 12000 square metres (130000 sq ft). 40 aircraft participated, including the Antonov An-148 which was on display for first time in India. More than 500 conference delegates and more than 5000 Business visitors attended the event. Parallel events of International Conference on Civil Aviation and CEOs Forum were also organized. The third edition, India Aviation 2012, was organised in Hyderabad from 14–18 March 2012.[5]

General aviation and training

After the closure of Begumpet Airport for commercial flights, it is being used for aviation and flight training purposes by Telangana Aviation Academy, Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy Ltd., and Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy. Training flights fly only to the south of the airport because of the northern part of the airport being a prohibited airspace for commercial flights.

See also

References
  1. "Civil aviation ministry decides to return old Begumpet airport to Indian Air Force". 19 May 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  2. "Begumpet Airport is now history". 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  3. Begumpet Airport History Archived 21 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Airports in Andhra Pradesh" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. (4.53 KiB)
  5. "Press Information Bureau, Government of India". Retrieved 30 January 2012.
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