Bagdogra Airport

Bagdogra Airport
IATA: IXB ICAO: VEBD
Summary
Airport type	Civil Enclave
Owner	Indian Air Force
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Siliguri
Location	Bagdogra, Siliguri, West Bengal, India
Hub for	Spicejet Go First IndiGo
Focus city for	Air India
Elevation AMSL	126 m / 412 ft
Coordinates	26°40′52″N 088°19′43″E
Map
IXB is located in West Bengal IXB IXB
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 2,754 9,035 Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (April 2020 - March 2021)
Passengers 1,500,310 (59%) Aircraft movements 10,784 (53.6%) Cargo tonnage 6,023 (19.8%)
Source: AAI

Apron area in the airport

Bagdogra Airport (IATA: IXB, ICAO: VEBD) is a customs airport located in the western part of Siliguri, at Bagdogra in Siliguri subdivision in northern West Bengal, India. It is operated as a civil enclave at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. It is the gateway airport to the hill stations of Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kurseong, Kalimpong, Mirik and other parts of the North Bengal region. As a major transport hub in the region, the airport sees thousands of tourists annually. The central government of India conferred limited international airport status to the airport in 2002 with limited international operations.

Bagdogra Airport experiences humid sub-tropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cwa) - hot humid summers and cooler winter. Significant precipitation in all seasons but drier in the winter. Air traffic at Bagdogra crossed 1 million for the first time growing at 43.6% percent in 2014–15. In 2019–20, the airport served 3.2 million passengers which was an increase of 11.2% from the previous year, making it the 17th-busiest airport in India. It is one of the few airports in India with zero sales tax on aviation turbine fuel.

Air Force Station

The airbase is home to the IAF No. 20 Wing, as also to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Mig-21) FL fighter aircraft of the No. 8 Squadron and a Helicopter Unit. Along with the airbase at Hasimara, Alipurduar district; it is responsible for combat air operations over a large area including North Bengal, Sikkim, and if needed, Bhutan. The base caters to all military air traffic for the Indian Army's XXXIII Corps based nearby in Sukna.

Expansion

The state government had handed over 14.5 acres (5.9 ha) of land to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for developing infrastructure for night landing in 2010. AAI also expanded the apron at the same time, enabling the parking of 5 narrow body aircraft simultaneously. The IAF, which maintains the ATC and runway, gave permission for night landings by civilian aircraft allowing flights past 6 pm in 2013. The new terminal building, which will start its construction by April 2022, will be completed by 2024 with 16 parking bays, 10 aerobridges and a taxi way. It will have a floor area of 1 lakh sq.m, and it will be capable of handling 12.5 million passengers per year. After the expansion of the airport, more international flights can land here, and will turn this customs airport into an international one.

For its growing traffic over the years, in 2022, From 11 to 25 April, the airport was shut down for 14 days to refurbish its sole runway.

Statistics

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Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
AirAsia India	Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai
Air India	Delhi, Kolkata
Go First	Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata
IndiGo	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai
SpiceJet	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai
Vistara	Delhi, Dibrugarh

Accidents and incidents

• 23 May 2008: A MiG-21 of the Indian Air Force had to perform a belly landing due to a technical snag and a jammed landing gear. The aircraft hard landed on the runway causing it to catch fire. The pilot ejected safely.The aircraft was written off subsequently.
• 5 July 2013: AI879, an A320 arriving from New Delhi swerved off the taxiway while taxiing towards the apron after landing. No injuries were reported. The passengers were immediately de-boarded. The aircraft sustained minor damage and took about 7 hours to bring the stuck aircraft to the taxiway.
• 11 July 2014: A mishap was avoided between IndiGo flight 6E472 and Air India flight AI879. Both aircraft received a Traffic Collision Avoidance System warning. Following the Resolution Advisory given by the TCAS the IndiGo flight immediately descended and the Air India flight turned right. Both aircraft landed safely without any injuries.
• 15 February 2019: An Air Asia India A320 scheduled for a flight from Bagdogra Airport to Kempegowda International Airport damaged its left wing sharklets while backtracking the runway. The two pilots were later suspended for 6 months by the DGCA in view of violating laid down procedures.
• 16 December 2019: An IndiGo A320neo bound for Kolkata performed an emergency landing in view of engine related issues. The aircraft was using Pratt & Whitney engines. Out of the two engines, one engine was not modified which caused the issue.

External links

• Bagdogra Airport at Airports Authority of India website.