Begumpet Airport
| Begumpet Airport బేగంపేట విమానాశ్రయము حیدرآباد ائیرپورٹ बेगमपेट विमानक्षेत्र Hyderabad Old Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: BPM – ICAO: VOHY | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||
| Location | Begumpet, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,742 ft / 531 m | ||
| Coordinates | 17°27′11″N 078°28′03″E / 17.45306°N 78.46750°E | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 09/27 | 10,600 | 3,231 | Asphalt |
| Ceased Operations Effective March 23rd 2008 | |||
Begumpet Airport (IATA: BPM, ICAO: VOHY) at Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Old Airport, is a civil enclave located in Begumpet. The airport is home to the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA) and the Begumpet Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. The Navigation Training School of the Training Command, Indian Air Force, formerly knows as Navigation and Signals School (N&SS), is based here. Begumpet used to be International and Domestic airport of Hyderabad as well as the only international airport in Andhra Pradesh, until the opening of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on the 23rd March 2008 after which Begumpet ceased all commercial civil operations. The last commercial flight to take off was Thai Airways International flight TG 330 to Bangkok on 22 March 2008.
Begumpet is now used for military aviation training and for flights carrying VIPs[citation needed]. The Leftist political parties have made strong representations to the civil aviation ministry to allow Begumpet airport to continue to be used for low cost civil aviation purposes for which it seems ideally suited. The Civil Aviation Ministry has put the proposal of starting an ATC training centre in the Begumpet Airport.
History
Begumpet Airport was established in the 1930s with formation of Hyderabad Aero Club. Initially it was used by Nizam of Hyderabad as domestic and international airport for The Nizam's Deccan Airways, one of the premier and the earliest airline in British India. The terminal building was created in 1937.[1] A new terminal building came up on the south side in 1972 and later became the main airport. The older terminal hitherto was referred to as 'Old Airport' at Begumpet. The new terminal building consisted of two check-in terminals; Rajiv Gandhi International and NTR National with a common arrival module.
At the time of its closure, Begumpet was the 6th busiest airport in India. It had 13 parking bays in operation around the terminal block and five "night parking bays" on the Northern side, next to the old block, sufficient to handle the A 320 and Boeing 737. The airport had limited night landing facilities and only 40% of Andhra Pradesh's international traffic flowed through the airport, due to lack of direct flights.[2]
Begumpet airport's capacity had reportedly been exceeded in both domestic and international areas due to the rate of growth in passenger traffic, estimated at 45% p.a., the highest among Indian airports. The airport handled 20,000 passengers daily with about 300 aircraft movements of 16 international and 10 domestic airlines. President George W. Bush's Air Force One landed and took off from Begumpet during his visit to Hyderabad in early 2006.
India Civil Aviation Airshow
Begumpet Airport hosts 'India Aviation', India's first civilian air show. This Biennial event, organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in collaboration with FICCI, was first held from October 15 to October 18, 2008. The second edition, ‘INDIA AVIATION 2010’ was organized, from 3 to 7 March 2010. The Partner Country in the second edition was France, and USA was the Focus Country for the event. The event was bigger in magnitude to its predecessor. More than 200 exhibitors participated and the exhibition covered a gross area of 12,000 square metres. 40 aircraft participated, including the Antonov An-148 which was on display for first time in India. More than 500 conference delegates and more than 5000 Business visitors attended the event. Parallel events of International Conference on Civil Aviation and CEOs Forum were also organized. The third edition of INDIA AVIATION 2012 was organized in Hyderabad from 14 to 18 March 2012.[3]
General Aviation and Training
After the closure of Begumpet Airport for commercial flights, it is being used for aviation and flight training purposes by A.P. Aviation Academy and Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy. Training flights fly only to the south of the airport because of the northern part of the airport being a prohibited airspace for commercial flights.
References
- ↑ Begumpet Airport History
- ↑ Airports in Andhra Pradesh PDF (4.53 KiB)
- ↑ "Press Information Bureau, Government of India". Retrieved 30 January 2012.
External links
- Photos of Hyderabad Airport at Begumpet on HyderabadPlanet.com
- Hyderabad Airport at Airports Authority of India web site
- New Hyderabad Airport
- New Hyderabad Airport
- A Complete information of Hyderabad
- Hyderabad International Airport - HYDintlAirport.com
- Airport information for VOHY at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- Accident history for HYD at Aviation Safety Network
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||