Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport

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Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport
Guwahati Airport check-in counters 4.jpg
  • IATA: GAU
  • ICAO: VEGT
Summary
Airport typeCivil Enclave
OwnerAirports Authority of India
OperatorAdani Group
ServesGuwahati
LocationBorjhar
Focus city for
  • SpiceJet
  • IndiGo
  • Air India
  • Air Asia
Elevation AMSL49 m / 162 ft
Coordinates26°06′22″N 091°35′09″E / 26.10611°N 91.58583°E / 26.10611; 91.58583Coordinates: 26°06′22″N 091°35′09″E / 26.10611°N 91.58583°E / 26.10611; 91.58583
Websitewww.adani.com/lgbia-guwahati-airport
Map
GAU is located in Assam
GAU
GAU
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
02/20 3,110 10,200 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2020– March 2021)
Passengers2,189,135(Decrease59.9)
Aircraft movements23,442(Decrease48.5%)
Cargo tonnage15,951(Decrease25.0%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport (IATA: GAU, ICAO: VEGT), also known as Guwahati Airport and formerly as 'Borjhar Airport', is the primary airport of the North-Eastern states of India. It is the 12th busiest airport in India. It is located at Borjhar, 26 km (16 mi) from Dispur, the capital city of the state of Assam and 28 km (18 mi) from Guwahati and is named after Late Gopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of Assam after India's independence. The airport is managed by Airports Authority of India and also serves as an Indian Air Force base.

History[]

Domestic security check area of the airport
Boarding gates of the airport

The airport has undergone numerous expansions and renovations since its establishment in 1958. It handled more than 3.7 million passengers in 2017, an increase of 36% from 2016. The LGB Airport has witnessed annual traffic of over 23% in 2018–19 with a total footfall of 5.7 million passengers and 55,066 aircraft movements in the same period. The existing terminal building at the airport has a maximum handling capacity of 850 arrival/departure passengers an hour.[4]

In 2002, the first international flight operated by Air India from Guwahati to Bangkok, using an Airbus A310 aircraft, becoming the first international airport in the North-East region.[5][6] However, the flight was withdrawn due to poor passenger load.

In January 2019, Guwahati won bids for two international destinations under the UDAN scheme, destinations being most anticipated Dhaka and Bangkok-Don Mueang.

In November 2021, Guwahati won bids for six international destinations under the UDAN scheme – Dhaka, Bangkok–Don Mueang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Yangon.[7]

New Terminal[]

The airport is also going to have a new second terminal, which is currently under construction, and is being built at a cost of ₹ 1,232 crore. It is about 40% completed as of 2021, and it is expected to be completed by June 2022. The new terminal is expected to be able to handle 4,300 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours and about 10 million passengers, annually. Equipped with 64 checks in counters, 20 self check-in kiosks, six baggage carousels, in-line baggage security screening system and 10 aero bridges. The terminal will also be an energy-efficient building.

The new terminal's area is 1,02,500 square meters - consisting of two levels, arrival at the lower/apron level and departure at the upper level. In addition to these two primary floors, there will be two more floors - a mezzanine between the two levels, part of which serves as the air-side arrival corridor for passengers alighting from the boarding bridges, and the other part of this mezzanine acts as a service floor for the baggage handling system.

The design of the terminal building is inspired by Icarus, the mythological figure, one of the earliest inspirations of human flight. The airport roof is styled using the art of origami, and built as an ode to human endeavor, crafts and innovation. The facade of the terminal will reflect the same language of origami in certain parts owing to the need of solid wall surfaces.[8]

Privatisation[]

In February 2019, the airport has been privatised and given on lease for 50 years to Adani Group at highest bid of Rs. 160 per passenger.[9]

Statistics[]

Annual passenger traffic at GAU airport. See source Wikidata query.

Airlines and destinations[]

Passenger[]

AirlinesDestinations
AirAsia IndiaBangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Imphal, Kolkata
Air IndiaDelhi, Dimapur, Imphal, Kolkata, Lilabari
Alliance AirDimapur, Imphal, Kolkata, Pasighat[10]
FlyBigKolkata, Pasighat, Rupsi[11]
Go First[12] Aizawl, Bagdogra, Delhi, Kolkata
IndiGoAgartala, Aizawl,[13] Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Goa, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Jorhat, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Pune,[14] Silchar[15]
SpiceJet Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna,[16] Silchar, Varanasi[17]
Vistara Bangalore,[18] Delhi[19]

Cargo[]

AirlinesDestinations
SpiceXpress Hong Kong[20]

See also[]

  • Airports in India
  • List of busiest airports in India by passenger traffic

References[]

  1. ^ "Annexure III - Passenger Data" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Annexure II - Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Annexure IV - Freight Movement Data" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. ^ Bikash Singh (22 September 2019). "Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal flags off Guwahati-Bangkok flight". Economic Times.
  5. ^ PTI (4 April 2002). "Guwahati joins international air route | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Guwahati joins international air route | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
  7. ^ Nov 9, TNN / Updated; 2021; Ist, 11:43. "Six new flights to Southeast Asian nations from Guwahati soon | Guwahati News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 December 2021.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Guwahati Airport News: Guwahati Aiport's new Rs 1232 crore integrated terminal expected to be ready by June 2022 - The Economic Times". m.economictimes.com. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Adani Group emerges highest bidder for Guwahati airport". Economic Times. 26 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Alliance Air Schedule". Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Air connectivity boost under UDAN! Rupsi Airport in Assam to start operations from Saturday". www.financialexpress.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Budget airline GoAir rebrands as Go First".
  13. ^ "IndiGo to launch direct flights from Guwahati to Aizawl and Varanasi". NorthEast Now. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Scindia inaugurates IndiGo's Guwahati-Pune flight". EastMojo. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  15. ^ "IndiGo to launch direct flights from Guwahati to Aizawl and Varanasi". NorthEast Now. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  16. ^ "SpiceJet to commence Guwahati-Patna service in Mar-2020". CAPA. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  17. ^ "SpiceJet schedule".
  18. ^ "Vistara Flight Shedule". www.airvistara.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Vistara Flight Shedule". www.airvistara.com. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  20. ^ "SG(GAU-HKG) Cargo". Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.

External links[]

Media related to Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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