Chandigarh Airport

Chandigarh Airport[8] (IATA: IXC, ICAO: VICG), also known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Airport, is a customs airport[9][3] serving the union territory of Chandigarh, India. The airport is located in Jhiurheri, Punjab.[10] The airport caters to six domestic airlines and connects Chandigarh to 17 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations. It is named after the renowned freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh.[11]

Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
OwnerAirports Authority of India[2]
OperatorChandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL)[3]
ServesChandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula
LocationJhiurheri, Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Focus city forIndiGo[4]
Elevation AMSL314 m / 1,030 ft
Coordinates30°40′29″N 76°47′26″E
WebsiteChandigarh Airport
Map
IXC is located in Chandigarh
IXC
IXC
Location of airport in Chandigarh
IXC is located in India
IXC
IXC
IXC (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 3,170 10,400 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 - March 2023)
Passengers3,677,786 (Increase 60.7%)
Aircraft movements29,042 (Increase 39%)
Cargo tonnage9,366 (Decrease 15.5%)
Sources: AAI[5][6][7]

History

Chandigarh Airport operated all its civil and commercial operations from the civil enclave of the Indian Air Force Station. Indian Airlines started operating flights from Chandigarh to Delhi in the 1970s. A new airport building was constructed in the civil enclave and was opened on 14 April 2011.[12] This air terminal was declared a customs airport on 19 August 2011, making it eligible for a limited number of international flights, but no international flight ever operated from this terminal.[13]

In 2008, the Government of Punjab acquired 304.04 acres of land on the south side of the existing runway in Jhiurheri village at a cost of ₹452 crore (equivalent to ₹13 billion or US$160 million in 2023) to build the new terminal, which was completed in 2015 at a cost of ₹939 crore (equivalent to ₹14 billion or US$180 million in 2023).[14][15][16] The Government of Punjab through GMADA and the Government of Haryana through HUDA each have a 24.5% stake and the Airports Authority of India holds the rest, a 51% stake in CHIAL the operator of the airport.[17][3]

On 24 December 2015, the Mohali Industries Association filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for non-operation of international flights after spending ₹1,400 crore (equivalent to ₹21 billion or US$260 million in 2023) on the airport.[18][19] After numerous hearings at Punjab and Haryana High Court and a long wait, IndiGo and Air India Express commenced flights to Dubai and Sharjah respectively in September 2016.[20][21]

The new terminal is located 14 km (8.7 mi) from Chandigarh city centre in Sector 17.

Facilities

Terminal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the new terminal on 11 September 2015

The new terminal was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 11 September 2015.[22] This new eco-friendly terminal is one of its kind in India and was built by Larsen and Toubro.[23] The interior of the airport has plants, for a feeling of a botanical garden. It is located at the village of Jhiurheri in Punjab[24] and became operational on 19 October 2015.

Construction of the new terminal included two link taxiways to the terminal and cargo complex. A 900m taxiway was added in April 2022 increasing the capacity to 20 aircraft per hour.[25] The terminal has five aerobridges apron for parking five in contact and eight remote parking stands for aircraft. The departures are on the first floor and arrivals on the ground floor. The first phase of the terminal covering 53,000 sq metres has a capacity of 1,600 passengers at a time and a parking space for 150 vehicles. This is not a greenfield airport but uses the runway of the present Indian air force base.[26]

There is one ATM located in the parking area, WiFi inside the terminal, and one duty-free shop in the departures area.[27][28] The airport facilities are operated by CHIAL (Chandigarh International Airport Limited).

Runway

The airport has single runway 11/29. From 2017 to 2019, the runway went through a major upgrade and repair that was completed on 9 April 2019. The expanded runway with approach lighting is 12,400 ft (3,800 m) long with effective take-off length of runway 10,400 ft (3,200 m).[29] Since 10 April 2019, the airport is available for 24 hour operations. Additional runway approach lighting in the touchdown zone was installed in 2021 to assist in landing during foggy weather.[30] As of 2022, runway is 10,400 ft Code 4E and equipped with 900 AFLS, 02 ILS, CAT I ILS at Rwy 11 and CAT-II at Rwy 29 making IXC capable to handle wide-bodied aircraft.

Cargo terminal

An integrated common use cargo terminal to handle domestic, international including perishable goods is planned. The cargo terminal will include five buildings of 450 m2 (4,800 sq ft) each, with one building designated for perishable goods.[31]

Airlines and destinations
Boarding area of the airport
AirlinesDestinations
Air India Leh
Alliance Air Delhi, Dharamshala, Kullu[32]
IndiGo Ahmedabad,[33] Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Dubai–International,[33] Goa–Dabolim, Hyderabad, Indore,[34] Jaipur,[35] Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Pune, Srinagar[36]
Vistara Bangalore,[37] Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai[38]

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

Awards

The airport was awarded as the 'Best Airport by Hygiene Measures' in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, by Airports Council International.[39]

See also

References
  1. "Chandigarh Airport Report" (PDF). Airport Authority of India. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  2. "LIST OF INDIAN AIRPORTS" (PDF).
  3. "CHIAL ICMAI" (PDF).
  4. "Ready to soar". The Indian Express. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  5. "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  6. "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  7. "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  8. "Chandigarh airport renamed after Bhagat Singh: End of a long dispute between Punjab, Haryana". The Indian Express. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  9. "LIST OF INDIAN AIRPORTS" (PDF).
  10. India (10 September 2015). "Land gone, Jheurheri villagers set up hotels near Chandigarh airport". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  11. "Chandigarh airport renamed after Bhagat Singh: End of a long dispute between Punjab, Haryana". The Indian Express. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  12. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  13. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  14. "PM Narendra Modi inaugurates new terminal at Chandigarh airport - The Economic Times". indiatimes.com.
  15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  17. "PM inaugurates new terminal at Chandigarh airport". Trinuneindia News Service. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  18. The Tribune Chandigarh, Tribune News. "Mohali Industries Assn files PIL against Centre". tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  19. The Tribune Chandigarh, Tribune News. "Shut airport, if you can't make it operational: HC". tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  20. "Air India Express launches services to Dubai and Sharjah". Gulf Business. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  21. "IndiGo to start Chandigarh-Dubai flights from September". www.businesstoday.in. August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  22. "PM Modi inaugrates [sic] Chandigarh International Airport". The Times of India. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  23. "India Has a New Eco-Friendly Airport Terminal. And It Is More than Just Amazing! - The Better India". The Better India. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  24. "PM Narendra Modi inaugurates new terminal at Chandigarh airport". businesstoday.in. 11 September 2015.
  25. "Chandigarh airport gets new taxi track to cut back occupancy time".
  26. "Punjabnewsline.com". Punjabnewsline.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  27. NYOOOZ (25 June 2017). "Chandigarh International Airport: Two years after inauguration, new terminal to get Wi-Fi facility | CHANDIGARH NYOOOZ". Nyoooz.com. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  28. Balachandran, Vappala (19 July 2018). "Airport gets another duty-free shop". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  29. "ixc". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  30. "Flight service at Chandigarh International Airport to stay smooth during fog : The Tribune India". Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  31. "Modern cargo complex to come up at Chandigarh international airport : The Tribune India". Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  32. "Air India and Alliance Air schedule list". airindia.in. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  33. "New Flights Information, Status & Schedule | IndiGo". www.goindigo.in.
  34. Sharma, Anu (1 November 2022). "IndiGo commences direct flights between Indore and Chandigarh". Livemint. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  35. "Jaipur to get new flights to Goa and Chandigarh". Times of India. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  36. "IndiGo flight schedules". goindigo.in.
  37. "Vistara Flight Schedule". www.airvistara.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  38. "Vistara Flight Schedule". www.airvistara.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  39. aci.aero/customer-experience-asq/asq-awards-and-recognition/asq-awards/current-winner-2020/best-hygiene-measures/
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