Mangalore International Airport

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Mangalore International Airport


Mangalore Airport Terminal building
IATA: IXE – ICAO: VOML
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airports Authority of India
Location Mangalore, India
Elevation AMSL 337 ft / 103 m
Coordinates 12°57′41″N 074°53′24″E / 12.96139, 74.89
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 5,300 1,615 Asphalt
10/28 9,515 2,900 Concrete

Mangalore International Airport (IATA: IXE, ICAO: VOML) (formerly Bajpe Airport) is a domestic and international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. The airport was opened in 1951 as the Bajpe Aerodrome and the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru arrived on the maiden flight.[1].

Contents

[edit] Overview

The airport is located near Bajpe, around 20 km (12 mi) north-east of the city centre. Daily domestic flights are available to Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Kochi, Kozhikode and Chennai. Until 2005, its small 5,200 ft (1,585 m) runway meant that it could only handle Boeing 737-sized aircraft. Now Deccan and Indian Airlines use the Airbus 320 while Kingfisher Airlines use an Airbus 319.

This runway was located on top of a hill, with the landing approaches leading up to the extreme edges of the hill sides and called a table top runway.[2][3]. The edges of the hill dropping into the valley from a height of about 90 m (300 ft) to 9 m (30 ft)) within a short distance of just 500 m (1,600 ft) on the east side of the runway and from about83 m (270 ft) to 25 m (82 ft) on the western side.[2] An additional disadvantage was that the runway was not level with the height varying from 90 m (300 ft) to 83 m (270 ft) from east to west. Landing on this short runway at this airport was considered difficult.[2]

On January 10, 2006 an Airbus 319 of Kingfisher Airlines was the first aircraft in that class to land on this runway.[4] The number of passengers using Mangalore Airport has gone up by 100% last year (from 2.6 lakhs to almost 5 lakhs).[4] With the increase in traffic the airport earned a maiden profit of Rs 83 lakhs in financial year 2006-07 and have a target of Rs 6 crores for financial year 2007-08.[5][6]

[edit] Second runway

A new international length (2.9 km) runway was constructed and commissioned on 10 May 2006. With this, Mangalore Airport has become the first airport in Karnataka to have two runways. [7] and a runway which is made of concrete.[8]

[edit] International flights

Air India Express at Mangalore Airport
Air India Express at Mangalore Airport

On 3 October 2006, Air-India Express flight IX-802 from Dubai became the first international flight to land at Mangalore [9]. On 15 February 2007, Air-India Express added connections to Abu Dhabi and Muscat [10], with Doha and Bahrain added as a new destination on March 25[11].

Plans are afoot by Jet Airways and Deccan to fly to the Persian Gulf by August or September.

[edit] New terminal building

With larger aircraft now able to fly to Mangalore, a new terminal building is under construction which will reduce the distance between Mangalore and the airport by about 7 km (4.3 mi). The terminal building at Kenjar is expected to commission its work in March 2009, marking another milestone in the history of Mangalore International Airport. A 43,000 square metres apron has been constructed at a cost of Rs 18.19 crore and will be connected to the new concrete runway [12]

There will be 28 check-in counters, several conveyor belts and inline security checking system. Five aerobridges will also be introduced [13] .

[edit] Air cargo facility

Once the terminal is shifted to the new place, the existing terminal will be used exclusively for cargo handling.

Already there are quite a number of leading shipping companies eyeing to set up base in Bajpe surroundings which is definitely a sign of progress. Even Gulf-based freight forward companies are planning to step on to Mangalore.

In the meantime, work was started to construct new taxiway and terminal building.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Domestic

[edit] International

[edit] Distances from Mangalore airport to nearby places

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Green Green Fields Of Home", Manglorean.com, 2006-09-29. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  2. ^ a b c "Hi-fliers on a high", The Hindu, 2006-12-16. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  3. ^ "Mangalore airport upgradation plan -- Economic `gains' vs local `interests'", Environment Support Group, 1998-07-17. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  4. ^ a b "Kingfisher Creates History - Airbus A-319 Trial Flight Lands at Bajpe", DaijiWorld, 2006-01-13. Retrieved on 2006-11-03. 
  5. ^ "Air India Express to start 4 more flights to Sharjah by Oct 25", Deccan Herald, 2007-08-12. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  6. ^ "Mangalore airport records maiden profit", The Hindu Business Line, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2008-03-13. 
  7. ^ "New runway at Bajpe airport meets all norms", The Hindu, 2006-09-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-08. 
  8. ^ "Pilot training programme at Bajpe airport from Sunday", The Hindu, 2007-01-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-08. 
  9. ^ "First International Flight Lands At Bajpe", Bellevision Global, 2006-10-03. Retrieved on 2006-10-04. 
  10. ^ "Muscat - Maiden Flight to Mangalore flagged off in style", Mangalorean.com, 2007-02-15. Retrieved on 2006-03-27. 
  11. ^ "A jolly ride on board Air India Express", Mangalorean.com, 2007-03-25. Retrieved on 2006-04-07. 
  12. ^ "AAI completes work on new apron at Kenjar", The Hindu, 2008-05-02. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  13. ^ "New terminal at Mangalore airport by Sept 2008 likely", The Hindu Business Line, 2007-11-09. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 

[edit] External links


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