Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (IATA: RDP, ICAO: VEDG) is a domestic airport serving the cities of Durgapur and Asansol. It is located at Andal, Paschim Bardhaman in the state of West Bengal, India. It is named after the renowned Bengali poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam. The airport is roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) from Durgapur and 25 km (16 mi) from Asansol.

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerBengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL)
Changi Airport Group
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesAsansol
Durgapur
LocationAndal, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India
Opened18 May 2015 (2015-05-18)
Elevation AMSL302 ft / 92 m
Coordinates23°37′17″N 87°14′36″E
Website
Map
RDP is located in West Bengal
RDP
RDP
Location in West Bengal
RDP is located in India
RDP
RDP
RDP (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 2,800 9,186 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 – March 2023)
Passengers492,020 (Increase 96.8%)
Aircraft movements3,344 (Increase 73.6%)
Cargo tonnage483 (Increase 3.5%)
Source: AAI[2][3][4]

The airport's hinterland comprises the towns of Asansol, Bardhaman, Bankura, Bishnupur, Purulia, Sainthia, Suri, Bolpur, Rampurhat in West Bengal and Dhanbad and Bokaro in Jharkhand. It is part of the country's first private sector Aerotropolis, being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL). The airport was officially inaugurated on 19 September 2013 by the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.[5] According to 2018-19 data, Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport is the 3rd busiest airport of West Bengal and the 61st busiest airport of India.[6]

History

Construction planning

The project was conceived in 2006–07 during the Left Front government. The construction of the airport was completed on 2013. But for several reasons, the airport did not receive final operational clearance from the aviation regulator DGCA until 24 April 2015. Regular Commercial Flights started from 2015.[7]

Commencement of the airport

On 10 May 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first passenger to use the new airport when he flew out to Delhi, aboard an Indian Air Force Boeing 737 VIP aircraft, even before commercial airlines started their regular service from the airport.[8] Scheduled commercial operation commenced on 18 May 2015.[9] Another airline, Zoom Air, also begun flights on the Delhi – Durgapur – Kolkata route but after three months the flight was stopped due to lack of passengers. The airport gained popularity in 2018 with connections to Delhi and Hyderabad by Air India and to Mumbai and Chennai in October 2019 by SpiceJet.

Plan

The airport has been built over 650 acres (can be expanded more at the future) at a cost of ₹600 crore (US$75 million).[10] The airport has 70% open green space for facilitating fresh green environment within the airport area.

Ownership

The State Government also has a 26.05% stake through West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. Singapore's Changi Airports International (CAI) has a 30.21% stake in BAPL. Other Indian promoters include IL&FS, Pragati Social Infrastructure & Development, Pragati 47, Lend Lease Company India and Citystar Infrastructure.

Infrastructure
Air Traffic Control Tower

Terminal

The 5,750 square metre passenger terminal building first started with 1 million passengers per annum capacity 2015, and with expansions as per 2022 it can now handle up to 2.5 million passengers per annum. It has six check-in counters with Common Use Terminal equipment (CUTE) in the departure lounge and two baggage conveyor belts at the arrival hall.[11] The airport is equipped with category VI firefighting and rescue capability.[11]

Runway
Air India Airbus A319 in Durgapur

The airport's 2,800-meter runway (which is expandable up to 3,315-metre) is equipped with a CAT I instrument landing system (ILS) and can handle narrow-body aircraft like Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. The airport apron has four parking bays and a Helipad.

Airlines and destinations

After inauguration, this airport had flights connecting Kolkata which is very near and well connected to Durgapur by Rail and Road. The Alliance Air (India) flight was discontinued after few months. Subsequently the airport started connectivity to other major metro cities.

Passenger

As of September 2023, the following airlines operate direct to and from Durgapur as below and with further one stop connectivity to Chennai, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad :

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
IndiGo Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai[12] [13][14][15][16][17]
SpiceJet Chennai, Mumbai [18][19]

Connectivity

Roads

The airport is conveniently connected to Durgapur and Asansol through National Highway 19. There are dedicated transport options available to reach the airport and reach passengers’ desired destinations from the airport.

Railway

The closest railway station to the airport is Andal Junction, which is around 10 km away from the airport.

Statistics
YearPassengersPassengers % changeAircraft MovementAircraft Movement % change
2022–2023 4,92,020 Increase96.8% 3,344 Increase73.6%
2021–2022 2,49,975[20] Increase188.78% 1,926[21] Increase200.94%
2020–2021 86,561 Decrease 49.42% 640 Decrease 57.97%
2019–2020 1,71,155[22] Increase272.8%[22] 1,523[23] Increase239.2%[23]
2018–2019 45,907[22] Increase846.47% 385 Increase63.1%
2017–2018 5,377 Decrease-6.9%[6] – Increase[24]
2016–2017 5,950[25] Decrease-30.1% 236[26] Decrease-53.4%
2015–2016 8,515[25] – 506[26] –

Busiest routes
Busiest routes to and from Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (Till March 2023)[22]
RankAirportTotal
passengers		Change
2022/ 23
1Chennai17,4901000
2Mumbai16,3411200
3Delhi16,1711600
4Hyderabad15,6431800

Accidents and Incidents

• On 1 May 2022, a SpiceJet Boeing 737–800 aircraft VT-SLH operating from Mumbai to Durgapur as SG-945, encountered a severe turbulence while descending at Durgapur, injuring 14 passengers and 3 flight attendants out of 195 occupants (including two pilots and four flight attendants).[27][28] A passenger, Akbar Ansari (48), died of a spinal injury five months later.[29]

See also

References
  1. Mishra, Mihir. "Bengal's Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport receives final regulatory approval – The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  5. "Profile on Kazi Nazrul Islam International Airport". CAPA. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  6. "Traffic News for the month of March 2019: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. "Bengal Aerotropolis Projects gets DGCA nod for airport". Business Standard. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  8. "Narendra Modi first passenger to use Durgapur airport". The Economic Times. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  9. Mishra, Mihir (18 May 2015). "Air India operates inaugural flight between Durgapur & Kolkata". Economic Times. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  10. "Rechristened Bengal aerotropolis unveiled". Business Standard. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. "Aerotropolis to bank on service, not size". The Times of India. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. "IndiGo to commence Mumbai-Durgapur service in Jul-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  13. "Flight Information". 7 May 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  14. "Indigo to operate 22 new domestic flights from 28 March". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  15. "Unveiling our all-new domestic destination - Durgapur, a beautiful city in West Bengal". IndiGo. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  16. "Durgapur airport is now connected to 8 cities in India with direct flights".
  17. "Flight Information". kniairport.com. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  18. "SpiceJet route map". Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  19. "SpiceJet Flight Schedule". SpiceJet. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  20. "Traffic News for the month of March 2022: Annexure-III" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  21. "Traffic News for the month of March 2022: Annexure-II" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  22. "Airports of India | knowIndia.net".
  23. https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/traffic-news/Nov2k19Annex2.pdf
  24. "Traffic News for the month of March 2019: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2019. p. 3. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  25. "Traffic News for the month of March 2017: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  26. "Traffic News for the month of March 2017: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  27. "DGCA to probe SpiceJet Mumbai-Durgapur flight turbulence incident, says Union Minister Scindia". TimesNow. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  28. "Turbulence on Mumbai-Durgapur flight: DGCA issues show-cause notice to SpiceJet". Hindustan Times. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  29. "SpiceJet Passenger Injured in Turbulence Dies Five Months Later". 30 October 2022.
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