Ahmedabad Airport
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Template:Infobox airport
Ahmedabad Airport, officially Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Template:Airport codes, is an international airport in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. The airport is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Gujarat, and is the seventh-busiest airport in India.
In fiscal year 2024–25, it handled over 13 million passengers, making it the seventh-busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in India.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The airport serves as a focus city for Air India and an operating base for IndiGo. In 2015, the government started the procedure for the privatisation of the airport. The new Dholera International Airport is being developed due to expansion constraints at the current airport.
History
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The airport opened in 1937, while international operations began on 26 January 1991. It was categorised as an international airport on 23 May 2000.<ref name="newterminal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 2004, Air India commenced service to London's Heathrow Airport with a Boeing 747. The flight catered to the large Gujarati community in the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The carrier ended the service in October 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following June, Air India began a route to Frankfurt using 747s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The link lasted until November 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The new Terminal 2 was inaugurated for handling international passengers in 2010. A Template:Convert statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was also inaugurated at the airport.<ref name="statue">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="newbuilding">Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2016, Air India reinstated direct service to London-Heathrow aboard a Boeing 787. Of the four weekly flights, three continued on to Newark.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In March 2017, a 700 kWp rooftop solar plant was commissioned at the airport.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Air India stopped operating the London–Newark service in November 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In November 2018, the Central Government cleared a proposal by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for leasing out six of its airports, including Ahmedabad. The following month, AAI commenced an international competitive bidding process to award Operations, Management and Development (OMD) contracts for the six airports.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Seven companies participated in the bidding process for Ahmedabad airport. These included Adani Enterprises Limited, Sydney, Australia-based AMP Capital Investors (UK) Limited, Autostrade, GMR Airports Limited, I Investments Ltd, PNC Infrastructure Ltd and Sanna Enterprises.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The bidding process that was won by the Adani Group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Subsequent to the selection of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) as the selected bidder, AEL promoted and incorporated the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – Ahmedabad International Airport Limited (AIAL), as the concessionaire under the Companies Act, 2013 in accordance with the terms of the RFP.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> AIAL signed the Concession Agreement with AAI for exclusive right to operate, manage and develop Ahmedabad Airport on 14 February 2020.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Structure
The airport currently consists of four terminals: domestic, international, an additional terminal for secondary traffic and a cargo terminal. The airport has 45 aircraft parking bays and both the international and domestic terminals have four aero-bridges each. The new terminal was modelled on Singapore Changi Airport.<ref name="Changi">Template:Cite news</ref>
The new terminal has a 500 metre-long moving walkway, which connects the two terminals.<ref name="express_india">Template:Cite news</ref> Airports Authority of India (AAI) will construct a new technical block which will enhance the flight handling capacity and provide better control of flights.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Runway
The airport's single runway, 05/23, is Template:Convert long,<ref name="runwayrepair">Template:Cite news</ref> with runway 23 being used for over 70% of operations. It has a single parallel taxiway which only extends Template:Convert along its full length. As a result, aircraft requiring a full-length departure from 23 must backtrack along the runway, while those arriving on 05 and rolling past the taxiway must turn around and backtrack to exit. Larger wide-body aircraft cannot use the taxiway at all. As this significantly limits the peak number of flights the airport can safely handle, there are plans to extend the taxiway to the full length of the runway, with the first Template:Convert extension completed in March 2024.<ref name="x720">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="o2162">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Air traffic control tower
As part of the airport modernisation process, the AAI announced that it would construct a new air traffic control (ATC) building that would include a new airport tower Template:Convert in height.<ref name="ATCautomated">Template:Cite news</ref>
Terminals
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is used for domestic flights. It has 32 check-in counters and has an area of Template:Convert.
In December 2018, a new Plaza Premium lounge was opened at Terminal 1 (near Gate 4 on the first floor), which caters for Priority Pass and other select bank cards as well as some business class passengers based on the airline flown.
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 was inaugurated on 5 July 2010 and opened for international flights on 15 September 2010. The terminal won the award for the best Steel Structure at the 2009 edition of the National Structural Steel Design and Construction Awards.<ref name="T2award">Template:Cite news</ref> The terminal has four aerobridges and 32 check-in counters. With a total floor area of approximately 41,000 sq. metres, this terminal will be able to accommodate around 1,600 passengers at any given time. In November 2018, a new Plaza Premium<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> lounge was opened at the international departures area of Terminal 2, which caters for business class and first class passengers as well as passengers holding Priority Pass<ref>Priority Pass</ref> and other bank cards. The new Template:Convert apron area can accommodate nine A-321 and four ATR-72 type of aircraft.
Cargo terminal
The airport handled 51,637 tonnes of cargo, inclusive of gold and silver in 2013–14. Sixty per cent of the cargo comes from domestic sources.<ref name="dedicatedcargo">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2009, Template:Convert of land was leased for a period of seven years out by the AAI to Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation to set up a center for perishable cargo. However, due to a government policy that prevented third-party operations at airports run by the AAI, the CPC was not in use until July 2014, when the minister of state for civil aviation announced that the government had issued a No Objection Certificate for commencement of operations.<ref name="perishablesoon">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014, it was announced that the airport would be getting a dedicated cargo terminal which is expected to come up at Terminal 3.<ref name="dedicatedcargo" />
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Template:Airport-dest-list Iran air = MHD ( Mashhad International airport
Statistics
Future
Due to growing demands and rise in passenger traffic, the airport will get a third passenger terminal beside Terminal 1, by moving the present cargo terminal to Terminal 2, which will increase the airport's capacity. Also, the existing parallel taxiway is being extended to match the length of the runway to increase aircraft handling capacity. After that, the airport could not be expanded due to limited space. To solve this problem, a new airport at Dholera, which is being developed into a new smart city, located Template:Cvt south-west from the present airport, is under construction, which will be the biggest airport in Gujarat with two parallel runways. Developed in three phases, the first phase of the airport will be completed by December 2025.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Awards
The airport was awarded as the Most Improved Airport in the Asia-Pacific Region by the Airports Council International in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2019, it received three awards for the Best Airport for Customer Service, Best Airport for Environment and Ambience and Best Airport for Infrastructure and Facilitation from the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey for 2019 conducted by Airports Council International.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Accidents and incidents
- Indian Airlines Flight 113, operating from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, crashed on final approach to the airport on 19 October 1988; 133 people died, including all 6 crew members. The flight was cleared for a visual approach into a foggy airport, when it struck trees and a high-tension pylon Template:Convert from Runway 23, crashing into a field and bursting into flames.
- Jet Airways Flight 2510, operating from Indore to Ahmedabad, collapsed on the runway while landing at the airport on 22 July 2010. There were 57 passengers and 4 crew members on board the ATR flight. The nose wheel reportedly collapsed due to a tyre burst, causing some passengers to receive minor injuries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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- Air India Flight 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff in the suburb of Meghaninagar on 12 June 2025. Of the 242 passengers and crew on board, 241 died and one passenger survived the crash, while 19 people died on the ground. This was the first fatal accident and hull loss of a 787, which entered service in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad – official website
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