Kolhapur Airport

Kolhapur Airport[4] (IATA: KLH, ICAO: VAKP), also known as Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport,[5] is a domestic airport serving the city of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. It is situated at Ujlaiwadi, 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast from the city. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAirports Authority of India
OperatorDirector of Kolhapur Airport
ServesKolhapur
LocationUjlaiwadi, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
Opened1939 (1939)
Elevation AMSL1,988 ft / 606 m
Coordinates16°39′53″N 074°17′22″E
WebsiteKolhapur Airport
Map
KLH is located in Maharashtra
KLH
KLH
Location in Maharashtra
KLH is located in India
KLH
KLH
KLH (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07/25 6,332 1,930 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 - March 2023)
Passengers128,728 (Increase 33.6%)
Aircraft movements2,730 (Increase 20.9%)
Cargo tonnage—
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

History

In January 1939, Air Services of India, a private airline based out of Juhu Aerodrome,[6] (which was Mumbai's airport at that time) began air services to the princely state of Kolhapur. The service was officially inaugurated by the Maharaja of Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj, who had shown considerable interest in the project and offered a subsidy to the company, apart from arranging for the necessary aerodrome facilities in his capital. [7]

The present Kolhapur Airport began operations in the year 1987 and was leased by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) from Airports Authority of India (AAI) on 16 April 1997.[8] The lease expired in February 2012 and the MIDC requested the state government in May 2012 to be relieved of the responsibility of managing the airport.[9][10] The Maharashtra Government then handed over the airport to the AAI in August 2013.[11]

The airport was closed for repairs by order of the DGCA on 16 June 2010, after the runway surface was found to be unsafe in the monsoons. Due to the closure, flights into Kolhapur were temporarily suspended. DGCA gave its approval for re-opening of the airport in April 2011 after MIDC repaired the 1,370 metre long and 50 metre wide runway. MIDC also added facilities like closed circuit television system, baggage scanner, door-frame, hand-held metal detectors, and guide lights along the airstrip at a total cost of ₹ 6 crore.[12] Kingfisher Airlines resumed commercial flights on 10 June 2011.[13] The service to Mumbai was suspended in November 2011 when the airline pulled out of several towns citing financial losses.[14] After a closure of six years, scheduled commercial operations at the airport resumed in April 2018 with Air Deccan launching its first flight to Mumbai[15] under the UDAN scheme.[16]

In March 2018, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed a resolution recommending the central government to rename the airport as ‘Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport' after the member of the erstwhile royal family of Kolhapur.[17] The First Airport Director (Kamal Kumar Kataria), was appointed on 13 December 2018 by Airports Authority of India, for purposes of the airport's development.

Expansion

The airport is undergoing a major upgrade, making it capable of handling Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. The foundation stone for a new terminal building and an ATC tower was laid by the former Union Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu February 2019.[18] The new terminal complex is being built at a cost of ₹ 71 crore and will cover an area of 3,900 square metres. It will have 10 check-in counters, and a peak hour handling capacity of 300 passengers.[19] Along with this, the runway length is being extended to 2,300 metres, a new combined Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a fire and rescue building, and expanding its apron and related equipment are included . The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has acquired 223 hectares of adjoining land in five villages at the cost of ₹ 240 crore for this purpose.[20] The new terminal is under construction since 2019, and is expected to be completed by October 2023.[21][22]

As of April 2021, the runway has been lengthened from 1,370 to 1,930 metres to the east of the airport, and an additional 64 acres near to highway 277 is acquired to further extend to the full 2,300 metres. Installation of night landing facilities at the airport was completed on the runway in late 2021.[23]

The airport has been facilitated with aviation fuel facility, which means that the aircraft landing here will have the facility to refuel while on halt. The facility, according to experts, will help in carrying more passenger load, which eventually will help both the airlines as well as the passengers. The facility was provided by Hindustan Petroleum, and will henceforth remain available on a permanent basis. Earlier, the limited availability of the fuel restricted the number of passengers on board an aircraft to some extent. However, that would not be the case any more. With the availability of aviation fuel, the number of passengers will increase.

The airport is presently connected with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Tirupati, with daily and weekly flights provided by IndiGo and low-cost airline Star Air. More airlines and routes will join in the coming years once the new terminal becomes operational.[24][25][26][27][28]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
IndiGo Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Tirupati
Star AirBengaluru, Mumbai

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at KLH airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

References
  1. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  2. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. "Koeclhapur Airport" (PDF). Airport Authority of India. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. "Kolhapur airport renamed 'Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport'". Hindustan Times. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  6. "Airlines of the world: India". Flight Global. 27 April 1939. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  7. "New Service in India". Flight Global. 2 February 1939. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  8. "Need for taking over of Kolhapur Airport by Airport Authority of India". XIV Lok Sabha. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  9. "MIDC not interested in Kolhapur airport operations". Sakaal Times. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. "Maha govt sanctions Rs80 crore for Kolhapur airport expansion". DNA. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  11. "AAI planning flexible use of Kolhapur airport". The Times of India. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  12. "Kolhapur airport reopens after a year". Daily Bhaskar. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  13. "Kingfisher announces new flights". Kingfisher Airlines Media Center. 11 July 2011.
  14. "Kingfisher suspends Kolkata flights". Business Standard. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  15. "Kolhapur airport reopens after six years with flights connecting the city to Mumbai". The Times of India. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  16. "Air Deccan launches 90-minute Mumbai to Kolhapur flights under UDAN". Pune Mirror. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  17. "Maharashtra's Kolhapur airport may be renamed as '[Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport]'". Financial Express. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  18. "Kolhapur to become a cargo hub". Sakal Times. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  19. "Kolhapur Airport to get a new terminal building, ATC tower! Boost for UDAN flights to Mumbai, Bengaluru". Financial Express. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  20. "Extension of runway with blast pad, RESA, Taxiway, Apron, GSE Area" (PDF).
  21. "Kolhapur Airport to get a new terminal building, ATC tower! Boost for UDAN flights to Mumbai, Bengaluru". Financialexpress. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  22. "Kolhapur Airport to get new terminal building with enhanced capacity and world-class facilities". Punekar News. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  23. "Dgca Team In Kolhapur To Inspect Night Landing Facility". The Times of India. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  24. "Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates direct flights between Kolhapur and Mumbai". Orissa Diary. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  25. "New Flights-IndiGo Air".
  26. "Jyotiraditya Scindia flagged off direct daily flight between Kolhapur-Bengaluru". Orissa Diary. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  27. "IndiGo to commence Ahmedabad-Kolhapur service in Feb-2021".
  28. "कोल्हापूरकरांसाठी खूशखबर; Kolhapur-Nagpur विमानसेवेला 17 ऑगस्टपासून सुरुवात" [Good news for Kolhapurkars; Kolhapur-Nagpur flight starts from 17 August] (in Marathi).
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