Vijayawada Airport

Vijayawada Airport
Vijayawada Airport
IATA: VGA ICAO: VOBZ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	AAI
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Andhra Pradesh Capital Region
Location	Gannavaram, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Elevation AMSL	82 ft / 25 m
Coordinates	16°31′44″N 80°47′45″E
Website	www.aai.aero
Map
VGA VGA
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 08/26 11,000 3,360 Asphalt
Statistics (Apr 2020– Mar 2021)
Passenger movements 507,215(55.1%) Aircraft movements 7,423 (51.3%) Cargo tonnage 1,989(6.6%)
Source: AAI

Name board at airport

Vijayawada Airport (IATA: VGA, ICAO: VOBZ) is an international airport serving Andhra Pradesh Capital Region in India. The airport has been granted to operate international flights. The airport is located at Gannavaram in Vijayawada, where National Highway 16 connecting Chennai to Kolkata passes through.

History

The airfield located at Gannavaram served as an army base during the World War II, after which it was converted into a civilian airport. Air Deccan introduced a daily service between Hyderabad and Vijayawada in September 2003. Until 2011, the airport had only four flights a day operated by Kingfisher Airlines. In 2011, flag carrier Air India and private airlines Spicejet and Jet Airways introduced direct flights to the airport, but the latter terminated its service. Air Costa, a regional airline started operations in October 2013, with Vijayawada as its operational hub, which later suspended services.

To cater to the increasing passenger traffic, the foundation stone for a new interim terminal building was laid in October 2015. The terminal, designed to handle two million passengers per annum was opened on 12 January 2017. It was expected to be sufficient for passenger needs for the next four-five years until a larger terminal was built. After domestic operations were shifted to the interim terminal, the old airport terminal building was closed and was prepared to handle international services. The terminal was equipped with a customs and immigration section and additional facilities and security arrangements.

The Central Government granted international status to the airport on 3 May 2017. However, it was only after the state government offered viability gap funding (VGF) to airlines for operating international flights, that private operator IndiGo bid for the contract to operate two flights a week to Singapore.

On 4 December 2018, Indigo flight 6E 33 departed for Singapore Changi Airport, marking the inaugural international flight for Vijayawada and getting an international footprint for Vijayawada. The flight was terminated in July 2019 after the six-month VGF agreement lapsed and the state government refused to extend the agreement.

Panorama of new terminal

Facilities

Structure

The airport is spread over 1265 acres. Initially, it was spread over 567, and later 698 acres were pooled from adjoining villages. It has 16 parking bays for A320, B737, ATR-72, and Bombardier Q400.

Runways

The airport has one runway:

• Runway 08/26: 3,360 by 45 metres (11,024 ft × 148 ft), ILS equipped

The airport's runway has been expanded to 3360m from 2270m. It can now handle wide body aircraft like B747, B777, B787, A330, A340 and A350.

Terminals

The interim terminal and the ceremonial lounge spread over 12,999 square metres includes check-in area, arrival hall, meet and greet service staircase, aviation lounge, and baggage pick up area. The lounge is spread over 3,613 square metres. The terminal can handle up to 500 passengers at a time and has 18 check-in counters.

Expansion

The Construction of the New Integrated Terminal Building had been started with the Foundation Stone Laid by then Honorable Central Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on 4 December 2018. The 35,000m² (376,700 ft²) steel and glass structure is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of INR 611 crores (US$86m). The new terminal is being Designed for Peak Daily Handling of 1,200 passengers, with 24 check-in counters, 14 Immigration Counters, Three customs counters, and eight gates. The terminal expansion parking facilities will accommodate an additional 1,250 automobiles. The new integrated terminal will be equipped with five baggage conveyor belts.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi, Hyderabad, Muscat, Bahrain, Kuwait
Alliance Air	Bangalore, Hyderabad
IndiGo	Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam
SpiceJet	Bangalore
TruJet	Hyderabad

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
SpiceXpress	Kolkata

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic and aircraft movements at Vijayawada Airport

Year	Passenger traffic		Aircraft movement
	Passengers	Percent change	Aircraft movements	Percent change
2018-2019	1,192,000	Template:Change	22,630	Template:Change
2017–18	746,392	Template:Change	11,999	Template:Change
2016–17	622,354	Template:Change	10,333	Template:Change
2015–16	398,643	Template:Change	6,676	Template:Change
2014–15	231,931	NA	4,639	NA

Accidents and incidents

On 28 August 1980, Vickers Viscount VT-DJC of Huns Air was damaged beyond economic repair when the nosewheel collapsed after the aircraft bounced three times on landing.

In February 2021, an Air India Express plane crashed into a floodlight pole and there were no deaths. The flight originated in Doha, Qatar.

External links

• Vijayawada Airport at Airports Authority of India website.