Tuticorin Airport

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Tuticorin Airport
Tuticorin Airport.jpg
  • IATA: TCR
  • ICAO: VOTK
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMinistry of Civil Aviation
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesTuticorin, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari
LocationAirport Road, Vagaikulam, Thoothukudi - 628103, Tamil Nadu, India
Opened30 April 1992; 29 years ago (1992-04-30)
Time zoneIndian Standard Time (+5:30)
Elevation AMSL39 m / 129 ft
Coordinates08°43′27″N 078°01′33″E / 8.72417°N 78.02583°E / 8.72417; 78.02583Coordinates: 08°43′27″N 078°01′33″E / 8.72417°N 78.02583°E / 8.72417; 78.02583
WebsiteAAI Tuticorin
Map
TCR is located in Tamil Nadu
TCR
TCR
TCR (Tamil Nadu)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 1,351 4,435 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2018 - December 2018)
Passengers movements126,629(Increase 74.3%)
Aircraft movements2,126(Increase 100.9%)
Cargo tonnage29(Increase 123.1%)
Source: Airports Authority of India[1][2][3]

Tuticorin Airport (IATA: TCR, ICAO: VOTK) is a domestic airport located 16.9 km (10.5 mi) from Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India serving the districts of Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari[4] in southern Tamil Nadu. It is located 15.6 km west from the city centre on Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli NH-7A. It was inaugurated by former chief minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa on 30 April 1992 and the former Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism M. O. H. Farook presided with her. The airport was ISO 9001:2015 quality certified on 13 April 2018. It is the fifth busiest airport in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Madurai.

Structure[]

Passengers boarding waiting aircraft at the runway of Tuticorin airport

The airport has one asphalt runway, oriented 10/28, 1349 metres long and 45 metres wide. The taxiway is 15 metres wide and 225 metres in length. Airport has two parking bays. Stand Number 1 to the east and Stand Number 2 to the west of apron. Stand Number 1 for ATR 72 or lesser type of ACFT and stand Number 2 for Bombardier Q400 or lesser type of ACFT. while its terminal building can handle 120 passengers during peak hours. Navigational aids at Tuticorin airport include NDB 'TU', PAPI lights and an Aerodrome beacon. It has been granted higher category license from existing VFR to IFR by DGCA on 30 June 2020. Tuticorin Airport is capable of all weather - day & night operations at low visibility less than 5 km. The Air Traffic Control Tower is located to North of Apron and is having Aerodrome Control (ADC), Surface Movement Control(SMC) and Approach Control (APP)Units. The air traffic services unit is provided with meteorological information[5]

Expansion[]

A master plan for upgrading the airport in phases had been prepared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Government of Tamil Nadu has handed over 600.97 acres of land free from encumbrance to the Airports Authority of India on 31 December 2018 for the expansion. An additional 110 acres of land has been set aside for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Coastguard. As part of the 96.77 crore expansion project initiated on 25 July 2020 the following activities are planned.[6]

  • Expansion of runway width from 30 to 45 m (98 to 148 ft) to handle Code-4C aircraft.
  • Expansion of the apron to accommodate five A321 aircraft measuring 191 m × 89 m (627 ft × 292 ft) in dimension.
  • New isolation bay to handle Code C aircraft and a taxi link way of 244.4 m × 30 m (802 ft × 98 ft).

On 29 June 2020, the night landing facilities have been established at the airport and it commenced its first operation on 3 July 2020 to Chennai via IndiGo airlines at 7pm.

In September 2020, the Airports Authority of India stated that it is initiating a project that includes widening the runway, constructing new air traffic control tower and a new terminal building at total cost of ₹381 crore. It will be operationalised by March 2023. The new terminal building will cover an area of 13,530 square metres and will be able to handle 600 passengers during peak hours. Construction of a new ATC tower cum technical block, fire station, isolation bay, aprons and five aircraft parking bays for A-320 type aircraft is also part of the project.[7]

Airlines and destinations[]

AirlinesDestinations
IndiGoBangalore, Chennai

Naming the airport[]

  • After the death of former president of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, there have been requests made to name the airport as "Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam International Airport" after the approval of international status to the airport by Union Cabinet.[citation needed]
  • Indian actor turned politician R. Sarathkumar's All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi made a request to name the airport after the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu K. Kamaraj as "Kamarajar International Airport".[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-IV" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 3. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Demand to modernise Tuticorin airport". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 24 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Airport website". Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  6. ^ Sudhakar, P. (25 July 2020). "Expansion of Thoothukudi airport runway begins". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Tuticorin Airport Being Upgraded For Rs 381 Crore: Airports Authority Of India". www.bloombergquint.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  8. ^ "கல்விக் கட்டணம் அரசே கையாளும்; 24 மணி நேரமும் கடைகள் இயங்கும்: சமக தேர்தல் அறிக்கை வெளியீடு". இந்து தமிழ். 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.

External links[]

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