Madurai Airport
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| Madurai Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: IXM – ICAO: VOMD | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||
| Serves | Madurai | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 459 ft / 140 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 5,990 | 1,826 | Asphalt |
Madurai Airport (IATA: IXM, ICAO: VOMD) is a public airport serving Madurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The airport is located about 13 km (8.1 mi) from the Madurai railway station. It is served by four airlines, and has connectivity to Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai.
Contents |
[edit] Air traffic
As per CII projection, the passenger traffic would touch 3.01 lakhs in 2006 and 6.15 lakhs in 2011 from 1.58 lakhs in 2005, if the airport became international. International and domestic cargo movement is also projected to grow. At present, passengers from the southern districts have to reach Chennai, Tiruchirapalli or Thiruvananthapuram to take international flights. A major chunk of passenger traffic to the Gulf and the Southeast Asian nations in these airports is from south Tamil Nadu. With work on the Sethusamudram project going on in full steam and the possibility of Madurai getting an information technology park, and Nanguneri and Thoothukudi special processing zones, introduction of international flights has become a necessity.
[edit] Facilities and Expectations
Madurai Airport needs to be made international one. K. Ramalingam, Regional Executive Director (Southern Region), Airports Authority of India, had gone on record, that except for immigration facilities, all other infrastructure was available at the airport and, if required, officials could be diverted from Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram. But he made it clear that the request for upgrading should come from the airlines.
[edit] Development
A series of development and expansion projects costing Rs. 150 crore, the launch of Madurai's own airline, Paramount Airways, and mega projects lined up for the southern districts pointed to upgrading of the airport. But the prime demand now is at least a couple of international flights from Madurai.
[edit] Phase-I:
Work on the upgrading of Madurai airport is in progress. The upgrading was planned phase-wise. Currently, the airport has two parking bases, the runway is 5,990 ft (1,826 m) long and the arrival and departure capacity of the terminal building is 50 passengers each.
Phase-I work will include expansion of the runway from 5,990 ft (1,826 m) to 7,500 ft (2,286 m), creation of an isolation base and five parking bases. The cost of this phase is around Rs 22 crore. Forty per cent of work on phase-I, which started at the end of 2005, is complete. The contract was awarded to PNCRDS, an Agra-based consortium. This phase was completed by December 2006. Work on construction of a Rs 2-crore fire station within the airport premises is in progress.
[edit] Phase-II:
The expansion of the terminal building will be taken up in phase-II. AAI is considering the proposal to upgrade the terminal building.
Madurai is one of the 35 non-metro airports under upgradation. The airport has appointed Axis Bank and Vienna airport consortium to study the feasibility of city side development to earn non-aeronautical revenue.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
- Deccan (Bangalore, Chennai)
- Indian Airlines (Chennai, Mumbai)
- Jet Airways (Chennai)
- Paramount Airways (Bangalore, Chennai)
[edit] References
- Airport information for VOMD at World Aero Data
- Destinations from Madurai
- SIA looking at Vizag, Tiruchi routes
