Ayodhya Airport
Ayodhya Airport Maryada Purushottam Shriram International Airport | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner | Government of India | ||||||||||
Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
Serves | Ayodhya | ||||||||||
Location | Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 102 m / 335 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 26°45′12″N 082°09′01″E / 26.75333°N 82.15028°ECoordinates: 26°45′12″N 082°09′01″E / 26.75333°N 82.15028°E | ||||||||||
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Ayodhya Airport Location of the airport in Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Ayodhya Airport, officially known as Maryada Purushottam Shriram International Airport,[1][2][3] is an international airport being constructed in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. The government has changed the name of Ayodhya Airport to Maryada Purushottam Shriram International Airport after Lord Shri Ram in 2021. The work of expanding the already existing government airstrip in Ayodhya to build a major international airport has started.[4][5] The existing government airstrip is situated between the NH 27 and NH 330 at Sultanpur Naaka, Ayodhya, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The State Government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in February 2014 for the development of the airport.[6] In February 2021, the Government of India has approved the Uttar Pradesh government's proposal for an international airport in Ayodhya.[7]
Recent efforts[]
Efforts by Union Civil Aviation Minister[]
In 2012, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said "There are three airstrips Faizabad, Moradabad and Meerut. We requested that give these airstrips to us and we will construct airports. Besides at places where there are airports of defence services, we requested the state to provide land and we will construct a separate terminal".[8] Singh said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had asked the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, to provide the ministry with land to set up nine airports across Uttar Pradesh, and said that having more airports would generate employment and economic growth in Uttar Pradesh.[9]
Development under low-cost airports[]
In an endeavour to provide air connectivity to different parts of India, development of low-cost airports is the most important component. Instructions have been issued to AAI to identify the most suitable low cost model for development of smaller airports and to develop airports in the smaller cities based on this mode.[10]
Handing over to Airports Authority of India[]
In 2008, the Indian Air Force airstrip at Faizabad was handed over by the government of Uttar Pradesh to Airports Authority of India (AAI) to be developed as full-fledged airport along with three others (Meerut, Moradabad and Saifai) on the instructions of the Uttar Pradesh state cabinet. The government of Uttar Pradesh is providing extra land free of cost for the further expansion and for the construction of a terminal.[11][12][13]
In 2012, the Uttar Pradesh government had issued formal orders allowing the landing and parking of private aircraft on the airstrip against a fee. According to the government order, any private aircraft can land by paying Rs 500. There will be no parking charges for the first two hours, after which Rs 200 will be charged per day.[14]
The government gave the airstrip to private investors for their pilot training and aircraft maintenance engineering institutes. "The fresh government order for landing and parking is an extension of that project, because now the government will not have to bother much about activities like maintained, which will be taken care of by the institutes," said Swaroop. The procedure followed earlier to obtain permission for using the airstrip used to be long. The owner of the private aircraft had to contact the respective district magistrate who would further contact the directorate which would take the measures required for landing of the aircraft.[15]
In 2018, the Yogi government expansion of the airstrip in Faizabad. The government later approved an international airport and sanctioned ₹2 billion for acquisition of land.[16]
The airport is still not operational as of January 2022.[17]
Projected length[]
The state government has decided to acquire more than 280 acres of land around the airstrip and widen it to allow landing of bigger aircraft. Projected airstrip needs to have a width of 45 meters and a length of 2.5 km.[18]
New International Airport Project Updates[]
- 27 November 2021 - Aviation Minister Scindia announced that ground breaking ceremony (bhumi poojan) of the Ayodhya International Airport will occur in January 2022. This will be after the ground breaking ceremony of Java airport near Noida. This will make Ayodhya Airport the fifth international airport in Uttar Pradesh (after Lucknow, Varanasi, Kushi Nagar and Jevar).
- 2 December 2021 - Airport Authority of India announced that it has completed the acquisition of about 370 acres of land, much higher than the 290 acres needed for the first phase.
References[]
- ^ "AAI begins construction of Maryada Purshottam Shri Ram Airport in Ayodhya". Zee News. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Upcoming Ayodhya airport to be named after Lord Ram". Hindustan Times. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Centre gives nod for Ayodhya airport; Rs 1,000 crore allocated for construction". Times Now. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Pande, Alka S (28 July 2007). "Maya to hand over airstrips to private entities". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Kalhans, Siddharth (12 August 2020). "Ayodhya airport set to become international, to be expanded by 600 acres". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ "MoU Signed for Development of Airports in UP". Press Information Bureau. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ Edwards, Brian (2 August 2004). "Other airport structures, Transportation Centre at the International Airport at Inchon, Seoul,". The Modern Airport Terminal, New Approaches to Airport Architecture. The Modern Airport Terminal. Taylor & Francis. pp. 253–262. ISBN 978-0-203-64687-8. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Development not on agenda in UP for last 20 years: Ajit Singh". The Economic Times. PTI. 21 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Singh, Sanjay (28 December 2012). "Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to put brakes on airfares, will introduce a mechanism to curb soaring prices". India Today. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "Year-End-Review of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the Year 2012". Ministry of Civil Aviation. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "Decks clear for air travel to three districts". The Times of India. 4 September 2013. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ Shelved by Maya, Akhilesh nod to develop Meerut airstrip as airport Express News Service: Lucknow, 4 September 2013, 03:34 hrs [
- ^ मेरठ, मुरादाबाद, फैजाबाद और सैफई में एयरपोर्ट बनाने का रास्ता साफ Updated on 3 September 2013 10:26 pm (IST)
- ^ "Airstrips open to private aircraft in UP". Posted: 18 April 2008 at 2317 hrs IST. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Airstrips open to private aircraft in UP". Posted: 18 April 2008 at 2317 hrs IST. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
- ^ "Yogi govt expedites Ayodhya international airport project". Hindustan Times. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Ayodhya airport to be ready for 20-seater aircraft in first phase". CNBC. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ PTI (6 November 2018). "Full-fledged airport in Ayodhya on fast track". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Airports in Uttar Pradesh
- Buildings and structures in Ayodhya
- Transport in Ayodhya
- Proposed airports in Uttar Pradesh