Juliaauhm: expand intro after review and improved wording after review

2026-01-31T16:42:01Z

expand intro after review and improved wording after review

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:1989 establishments in Puducherry (union territory) to :Category:1989 establishments in Pondicherry per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2021 April 29#Establishments in Puducherry

2021-05-28T02:09:38Z

Moving Category:1989 establishments in Puducherry (union territory) to Category:1989 establishments in Pondicherry per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2021 April 29#Establishments in Puducherry

New page

{{Short description|Airport in Pondicherry, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2013}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox airport
| name = Pondicherry Airport
| nativename = 
| image = PNY airside.jpg
| image-width = 250
| caption = New terminal
| IATA = PNY
| ICAO = VOPC
| pushpin_map = India Puducherry#India
| pushpin_label = '''PNY'''
| type = Public
| owner = AAI
| operator = Airports Authority of India
| city-served = [[Pondicherry|Puducherry]]
| location = [[Lawspet]]
| elevation-f = 134
| elevation-m = 41
| coordinates = {{Coord|11|58|00|N|79|48|52|E|type:airport}}
| website =
| metric-elev = y
| metric-rwy = y
| r1-number = 07/25
| r1-length-f = 4500
| r1-length-m = 1,500
| r1-surface = [[Asphalt]]
| stat-year = 2016
| stat1-header = Passenger movements
| stat1-data = 102,784
| stat2-header = Aircraft movements
| stat2-data = 10,800
| stat3-header = Cargo tonnage
| stat3-data = 100
| footnotes =
}}
'''Pondicherry Airport''' {{Airport codes|PNY|VOPC}} is a [[regional airport]] located at [[Lawspet]] in [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]], a [[Union territory]] of [[India]]. It is situated 8.1 km from the international community of [[Auroville]]. The airport has scheduled flights and operations of the local flying training school. In 2007, the Puducherry Government decided to expand the airport to accommodate larger aircraft and commissioned a new terminal building.<ref name= IBN>{{cite news|title=Flight operations await new terminal |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/flight-operations-await-new-terminal/256422-60-118.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513121042/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/flight-operations-await-new-terminal/256422-60-118.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 May 2012|publisher=[[IBN Live]] |date= 10 May 2012 |access-date=3 July 2012}}</ref> The new terminal was inaugurated on 18 January 2013 with the arrival of a [[SpiceJet]] flight from Bengaluru.<ref>{{cite web|title=First flight to Pondicherry from Bangalore on January 17 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/first-flight-to-puducherry-from-bangalore-on-january-17/article4277106.ece |access-date=6 January 2013}}</ref> After a gap of three years, the airport was operationalised again under the UDAN scheme in August 2017 with a daily flight to [[Hyderabad Airport]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/puducherry/spicejet-to-operate-daily-flights-between-hyderabad-and-puducherry-starting-august-16/articleshow/59632657.cms|title=SpiceJet to operate daily flights between Hyderabad and Puducherry starting August 16 - Times of India|work=The Times of India|access-date=2017-10-31}}</ref>

== History ==
The airport was constructed in 1989. Between that year and 1991, regional airline [[Vayudoot]] flew to [[Chennai]], [[Neyveli]] and [[Bengaluru]], however the flights were not successful and all were ended. The airport remained in disuse for the following two decades.<ref name=pondy3jan>[http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1405082.ece SpiceJet announces Pondy flight schedule]. The New Indian Express. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2015.</ref>

In June 2007, a [[memorandum of understanding]] (MoU) was signed between the local government and the [[Airports Authority of India]] (AAI) for expansion of the airport. For the first phase, 19.92 hectares of land were acquired at {{Indian Rupee}} 18.95 crore. Then the new terminal was constructed and the runway extended by 260 m (853 ft), allowing for the landing of [[ATR (aircraft manufacturer)|ATR]] aircraft. This phase was completed in late 2012. The second phase of expansion involves acquiring 200 more acres of land to extend the runway by an additional 1,100 m (3,609 ft), allowing larger [[jet aircraft]] to land at the airport.<ref>{{cite news|title=Puducherry airport to go on stream in October|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-09-03/news/30110146_1_puducherry-airport-runway-lawspet|publisher=[[The Economic Times]] |date= 3 Sep 2011 |access-date=3 January 2012}}</ref>
The new terminal was inaugurated with the arrival of a [[SpiceJet]] Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft on 17 January 2013 from [[Bengaluru]]. However, this daily service lasted for only a little over one year as the airline withdrew the flight citing low number of passengers.<ref name=pondy3jan /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/with-last-flight-puducherry-airport-runs-out-of-steam/article5640023.ece|title=With last flight, Puducherry airport runs out of steam|author=Jaisankar, C.|date=31 January 2014|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=7 December 2015}}</ref> The following year, the airport once again was brought back into operation when [[Air India Regional|Alliance Air]] commenced flights from Bengaluru on 14 April 2015, subsidised by the Puducherry Government. These flights were suspended six months later due to "payment issues".<ref name=alliancesuspension>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/puducherrys-flight-services-suspended-temporarily/article7778903.ece |title= Puducherry's flight services suspended temporarily}}</ref>

In October 2016, the Puducherry government signed a Tripartite MoU with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and AAI in New Delhi to operationalise the airport under the Regional Connectivity Scheme.<ref>{{cite news|title=Puducherry Airport To Be Operational From January 2017|url=https://www.ndtv.com/south/puducherry-airport-to-be-operational-from-january-2017-1468727|publisher=[[NDTV]] |date=1 October 2016|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> Subsequently, SpiceJet was awarded the Hyderabad-Pondicherry route under the scheme in March 2017<ref>{{cite news|title=SpiceJet awarded six routes under regional connectivity scheme|url=https://ultra.news/t-t/30139/spicejet-awarded-six-routes-regional-connectivity-scheme|publisher=Ultra News |date=30 March 2017|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> and the airline commenced operations from 16 August 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=Puducherry back on aviation map; services to Hyderabad launched|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/puducherry-back-on-aviation-map-services-to-hyderabad-launched-4799226/|publisher=[[The Indian Express]] |date=16 August 2017|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> SpiceJet later resumed its flight to Bengaluru from Puducherry in February 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bengaluru-UT flight service resumes|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/flight-service-to-bengaluru-resumes/article22767470.ece|work=[[The Hindu]] |date=16 February 2018|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref>

==Structure==

Puducherry Airport has one asphalt runway, oriented 07/25, 1500 m long and 30 m wide. It has a 100 by 150 m [[Airport ramp|apron]] and its new terminal building can handle 300 passengers during peak hours. Navigational aids at Puducherry include an [[Aerodrome beacon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Airport website |url=http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/pondicherry_technicalinfo.jsp |access-date=3 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102155608/http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/pondicherry_technicalinfo.jsp |archive-date=2 January 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Currently land is being acquired to extend the runway and accommodate larger aircraft to increase flight services and open the airport for international flights but still is in the refusal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/efforts-on-to-expand-puducherry-airport-runway-cm-narayanasamy/|title=Efforts on to expand Puducherry airport runway: CM Narayanasamy|date=2017-08-03|work=The Indian Express|access-date=2017-10-31|language=en-US}}</ref>
Puducherry Airport has the capacity to handle Boeing 737-700 especially of SpiceJet and also Air India A319 on a 1,500 metre runway just like St. Gallen Altenrhein Airport, but people have refused to think on it.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpgDvWtJ4EM</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB1awbqHgXA</ref>

==Airlines and destinations==

{{Airport-dest-list|3rdcoltitle={{Abbr|Refs.|References}}|3rdcolunsortable=yes

|[[SpiceJet]] | [[Kempegowda International Airport|Bangalore]], [[Rajiv Gandhi International Airport|Hyderabad]] (both resume 31 October 2021)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spicejet.com/schedules|title=SpiceJet Schedule|access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat-inline|Puducherry Airport}}
* {{WAD|VOPC}}
* {{GCM|PNY}}
* {{ASN|PNY}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225073409/http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/pondicherry_generalinfo.jsp Pondicherry Airport] at the [[Airports Authority of India]]

{{Puducherry}}
{{Airports in India}}

{{coord|11|58|00|N|79|48|52|E|type:airport_region:IN|display=title}}

[[Category:Airports in Puducherry]]
[[Category:Transport in Puducherry]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Puducherry]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in Pondicherry]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1989]]

Pondicherry Airport - Revision history

Juliaauhm: expand intro after review and improved wording after review

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:1989 establishments in Puducherry (union territory) to :Category:1989 establishments in Pondicherry per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2021 April 29#Establishments in Puducherry