Chandigarh Airport

Chandigarh International Airport Chandigarh Air Force Base चंडीगढ़ अंतरराष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डा चंडीगढ़ एयर फोर्स बेस
IATA: IXC – ICAO: VICG IXC Location of airport in India Chandigarh Airport from inside
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	Indian Air Force/Airports Authority of India
Serves	Chandigarh Tricity
Elevation AMSL	1,012 ft / 308 m
Coordinates	30°40′24″N 076°47′19″E / 30.67333°N 76.78861°E / 30.67333; 76.78861
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 11/29 9,001 2,744 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passenger movements 1,144,771(8.98%) Aircraft movements 10,551 Cargo tonnage 4,228
Source: AAI,[1][2]

Chandigarh International Airport (IATA: IXC, ICAO: VICG) is a customs airport^[3] in Chandigarh, India. It is located about 9 kilometres south of the city centre and operates as a civil enclave at the Chandigarh Air force Station of the Indian Air Force. It is listed as one of the major airports in North India. Work is underway for an International terminal. A total of 26 domestic flights connect Chandigarh to different destinations in India.

Punjab & Haryana each have 24.5% stake and the Airports Authority of India holds the rest of 51% stake.^[4]

International terminal

A new International Terminal is being built at Mohali. Work on the international terminal, upgrading of the domestic terminal, construction of three link taxiways, parallel taxi track, cargo complex and hangars of flying club activities and runway extension have been completed. The terminal will have 5 aero-bridges, construction of apron for parking three in contact and ten remote parking stands for aircraft. The project has Punjab, Airport Authority of India and Haryana as partners.The project is to be completed by June 2015.The main purpose of the International airport is to reduce pressure on Indira Gandhi International Airport.^[5] The International terminal is located on 306 acres (1.24 km²) land in Jheorheri village, near Mohali. The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority is spending Rs 1,700 crore to connect this airport with Punjab.^[6] Defense Ministry has already given clearance to the International Flight operations during night hours from the Airport.^[7]

As of July 2014, official update mentioned that 90% of the upgrade construction work had been done on the International Airport and the remaining was expected to be completed by the deadline of February 2015.^[8] However, after the February deadline neared the deadline was moed to December 2015, with international norm for long distance flights being completed by December 2017. ^{[9] [10][11]}

Naming Controversy

Originally, it was proposed to name the airport as Mohali International Airport due to its proximity to the town of Mohali in Punjab. However, in 2008, Haryana demanded a stake in the airport,^[5] thus resulting in Punjab and Harayana reaching an agreement to name it Chandigarh International Airport.^[12] This airport would not be greenfield but the present Indian air force base would be used.^[13]

Project plan

The project includes building an international terminal near the existing Chandigarh Indian Air Force base and further expansion of the domestic terminal. Also, the existing runway will be expanded to handle large passenger aircraft. 306 acres (1.24 km²) of land has been acquired by GMADA and the construction work was slated to begin by August 2009.It is expected that work would end soon and International flights would soon begin to operate from Chandigarh to other parts of the world,^[14][15] Construction began in January 2010.^[16][17]

The runway is planned to be extended from 9000 feet to 10,400 feet.^[18]

Airlines and destinations

See also

References

External links

• Chandigarh Airport at AAI
• Chandigarh Airbase at Global Security
• Airport information for VICG at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.