| Juhu Airport जुहू विमानतळ |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: none – ICAO: VAJJ
Juhu Airport
Juhu Airport (Mumbai)
|
|||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||
| Serves | Mumbai | ||
| Location | Juhu, India | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 13 ft / 4 m | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 08/26 | 3,750 | 1,143 | Paved |
Juhu Aerodrome (Marathi: जुहू विमानतळ) (ICAO: VAJJ) an airport serving Mumbai, was India's first civil aviation airport. It is currently used by small private aircraft and as a heliport.
The aerodrome is located at Juhu, an upmarket residential suburb in northwest Mumbai flanking the city's Juhu Beach along the Arabian sea. [1]
Contents |
The aerodrome started off as an unpaved airfield around 1928. It was used by the newly established Bombay Flying Club for tuition, joy-rides, and air travel.The activities of the club were, unfortunately, limited by the fact that the aerodrome at Juhu was not suitable during the monsoon.[2] Much progress had been made in the layout of the ground of the aerodrome by 1932, although the ground was still not fit for use during that year's monsoon.[3] J. R. D. Tata, the father of civil aviation in India, made his maiden voyage to Juhu airport from Drigh Road Airstrip in Karachi, via Ahmedabad, on 15 October 1932 carrying mail in a Puss Moth aircraft. [4] The Tata Airmail Service, as it was called, continued on to Pune, Bellary and Madras.[5]
This was the birth of Air India which, in 1932 was based here out of a hut with a palm thatched roof and had 1 pilot and 2 apprentice mechanics along with 2 piston engined aircraft, one Puss Moth and one Leopard Moth aircraft. [6] [7] Waterlogging and the absence of proper runways for monsoon take-offs were Juhu's serious drawbacks. The former problem was addressed by 1937 while proper runways, night flying facilities, hangars etc were provided in the following year.[8] Atleast two airlines were based at Juhu during this period Air Services of India, Ltd. and Tata Sons, Ltd. [9]
Two bitumen runways - East-West and North-Northwest-South-Southeast facing were laid in 1936. During the monsoons, operations had to be shifted to Poona due to water logging. The runways relaid with concrete in 1938 to allow all weather operations. A third runway was planned for construction in 1939 but this never occurred. It served as the city's airport up to and even during the 1939-45 war.[10] The airport served as the city's sole airport till Santacruz airport, now Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport was built in 1948. [11][12] Juhu Aerodrome continued to be used however, such as by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1948[13] as well as by the ailing Vallabhbhai Patel (then Deputy Prime Minister) who landed at Juhu in December 1950 to avoid large crowds that had gathered at Santacruz Airport to greet him.[14]
At present, Juhu has only a single operational runway (08/26, 3750 ft/1143 m) and is run by the Airports Authority of India. It hosts the Bombay Flying Club along with several executive and light aircraft, gliders, and a heliport for private charters and to ferry Oil and Natural Gas Corporation personnel by carrier Pawan Hans to offshore oil rigs at Bombay High[11] .
Jal Hans, India's first seaplane service was launched at the Juhu Aerodrome in December 2010. [15]
Juhu Aerodrome handles all helicopter operations, including private helicopter charters out of Mumbai. [16] Due to congestion at the CSI Airport, in December 2010 all helicopter operations were moved to Juhu. The aerodrome can handle 6 helicopter operations at a time. The airport currently handles about 100 helicopter operations a day. [17]
There is currently a plan to move all small private aircraft (such as Beechcraft B-200 and Cessna C-90)operations from CSI Airport to Juhu Aerodrome to decongest CSI Airport. [16] This was to take place by January 10, 2011. [11] However, due to lack of infrastructure and security considerations, this has been delayed. As part of this move, the aerodrome is currently being upgraded to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) from the current Visual Flight Rules (VFR). Currently the air controllers at CSI Airport have to align aircraft to the Juhu flight path using their radar before they hand over the aircraft to Juhu. The airport is also being fitted with a Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) to facilitate night landing facilities that have demanded by helicopter operators. There is also a plan to align runway 08-26 with runway 09-27 of CSI Airport to facilitate independent operations. A new terminal building is being built to handle passenger movement, it currently only has a VIP terminal for private charter movements. The runway is also being extended besides permissions pending. [18] [19] [20]
The airport is currently being guarded by the Maharashtra Home Guard who will soon hand over charge to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that handles security for all major airports in India. A contingent 174 personnel has been sanctioned for Juhu aerodrome with CISF infrastructure being accommodated in a renovated hangar. The CISF personnel will be armed with AK-47s and INSAS rifles. It will also have a vehicle-borne Quick Reaction Team (QRT). A perimeter wall is being built around the premises as well. [17] [21] The CISF personnel have however refused to take over charge of the Airport security until a periphery wall is built.
With air traffic congestion reaching an unacceptable threshold in Mumbai, Airports Authority of India put on fast track its age-old plan of reviving the Juhu airport to ease some pressure off Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in 2010. The Airports Authority of India appointed consulting major KPMG to draw up a development plan for Juhu airport. It was envisioned that the Juhu airstrip could take up to 18% load off CSI Airport with turboprop ATR and then Boeing 737 aircraft. The plan was to extend the runway to 2000 meters in phases would ultimately see the airstrip jutting into the sea with reclaimed parts of the famous Juhu beach and seafront, however the permission for the same was denied by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. [22] [23] Instead, the ministry asked for the conservation of land around the airstrip stating no development should take place there and that it should be conserved as a green open space to compensate the pollution caused by the airstrip. [24]
The Aerodrome was used for the opening scene of Slumdog Millionaire and can be seen in subsequent scenes as well.[30][31] Part of the climax of the 2008 film A Wednesday was shot here. The aerodrome was referred to as Juhu Aviation Base in this particular film. [32] The climax of Hindustan Ki Kasam was also shot here in 1999.[33]
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.