Veer Savarkar International Airport
Veer Savarkar International Airport, also known as Port Blair Airport (IATA: IXZ, ICAO: VOPB), is a customs airport located 2 km (1.2 mi) south of Port Blair and is the main airport of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Originally known as "Port Blair Airport", it was renamed in 2002 after freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who had been detained in the Cellular Jail in the city for 10 years.[2] It operates as a civil enclave, sharing airside facilities with INS Utkrosh of the Indian Navy.[3]
Veer Savarkar International Airport | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Civil enclave | ||||||||||
Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
Serves | Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India | ||||||||||
Opened | 20 January 2005 | ||||||||||
Hub for | Jal Hans | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 4 m / 14 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 11°38′28″N 092°43′47″E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
![]() ![]() IXZ ![]() ![]() IXZ | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (Apr 2018- Mar 2019) | |||||||||||
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Source: AAI[1] |
Overview
The airport has a single runway of 3,290 m (10,794 ft) in length, accommodating most narrow-body aircraft, that includes Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Boeing 737. Except for the civilian terminal operated by the Airports Authority of India, all other air traffic operations over Port Blair are undertaken by the Indian Navy.[4]
Terminal
The passenger terminal has a capacity of 400 passengers. It covers an area of 6100 square metres.[5] There is only one terminal, with two gates and no aerobridges. Buses are used to provide transportation from the terminal to the aircraft parked on the apron. A new terminal will come up at the airport and will cover an area of 40,837 square metres. The terminal capacity will be 1200 pax (1000 domestic and 200 international).[6] In 2009, construction work commenced to expand the apron.
As of 2019 there are no international flights from this airport. International flights are expected to start from July, 2020.
A new terminal building is under construction and is scheduled for commissioning by June 2020. The AAI had initially projected a requirement of 26 acres of land for construction of the new terminal building. The local administration reduced it to almost 19 acres, 10.60 acres of which has been acquired from the Andaman & Nicobar Administration, 4.72 acres is from the Indian Navy, and the remaining 3.39 acres is yet to be acquired.[3]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations | Refs. |
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Air India | Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam | |
GoAir | Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai | |
IndiGo | Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata | [7] |
SpiceJet | Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata Seasonal: Bangalore | [8] |
Vistara | Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata | [9] |
References
- "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS". Aai.aero. Archived from the original (jsp) on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- "Lok Sabha Debates - Regarding Renaming Of Port Blair Airport In Andaman After The Name Of Port Blair airport on 8 May, 2002". www.indiankanoon.org. Government of India. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- "New Terminal Building at Port Blair Airport by March 2018". Press Information Bureau. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- "Andaman & Nicobar Command: Saga of Synergy". Sainik Samachar. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- "PortBlair Airport".
- "PortBlair Airport".
- "IndiGo new flights". goindigo.com. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- "SpiceJet schedule list". spicejet.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- "Vistara adds Chennai service from Feb 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
External links
- Vir Savarkar Airport (official Airports Authority of India web site)
- Airport information for VOPB at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.