Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport: Difference between revisions
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[[Ariana Afghan Airlines]], and Ukraine's [[Aerosvit]] Airlines recently ceased operations to Amritsar due to low passenger loads. |
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== Transport to/from airport == |
== Transport to/from airport == |
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Revision as of 10:19, 23 February 2009
Raja Sansi International Airport Amritsar International Airport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Airports Authority of India | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Location | Amritsar, India | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 756 ft / 230 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°42′28″N 74°47′57″E / 31.70778°N 74.79917°E | ||||||||||
| Website | Raja Sansi International Airport | ||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Raja Sansi International Airport (IATA: ATQ, ICAO: VIAR), also known as Guru Ram Das International Airport, after Guru Ram Das, the founder of Amritsar, as well as Amritsar International Airport, is 11 km north-west from the city of Amritsar, India. It is located on the Amritsar-Ajnala Road, near the village of Raja Sansi. It serves not only the city of Amritsar, but also the greater Punjab area, including the city of Jalandhar.
As a government designated international airport, the airport currently handles about 150 commercial flights a week, both international and domestic.
Expansion and renovation
The city of Amritsar has long remained the cultural and tourist capital of Punjab, and the demand for a fully operational international airport has increased in recent years. A newly finished arrivals terminal was inaugurated in September 2005, and a finished departures terminal has been operational since March 2006. This new terminal is a blend of modern and Indian designs, constructed of glass and steel, but with Indian arches and colours.
Amritsar Raja Sansi Airport (ATQ) has now begun Phase II of its development, which will see:[1]
- A brand new cargo handling facility due to demands from exporters in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, who have no alternative apart from Delhi which is far too far away
- The proposed site for the Permanent Perishable Cargo Centre is located close to the air cargo complex, which has a capacity of 200 tonnes per day
- Passenger terminal building size to be doubled to 41,000 m².
- Four new aerobridges to be installed.
- Parking bays to be increased from 5 to 9 by 2008.
- The runway extended by 369 meters to a total length of 3,658 meters.
- A new car park for passengers and visitors
One of the main drivers for this expansion was a result of the excellent load factors that airlines operating into Amritsar are experiencing. For example ever since Jet Airways' inaugurated its Amritsar-London flights in August 2006, which has since been discontinued, the load factor has been considerably higher than both Delhi-London and Mumbai-London, which led the airline to upgrade the service from 3 weekly to daily flights (effective 15th January 2008):[2]
- August & September 2006 = average load factor of 66%[3]
- August 2007 = average load factor of 85% [4]
Air India has also had success on its Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flights with the airline upgrading the service from the current 5 weekly flights to daily in 2008. It has recently introduced a direct service from Amritsar - London. Traffic through Amritsar Airport is clearly growing rapidly but has stagnated during the current financial crises and this is perhaps no surprise considering that more than 26% of all passengers flying from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport are from Punjab[citation needed].
The Airport Authority of India has shortlisted five bidders from the initial list of 23 bidders for the modernization of the Amritsar airport. These include
- Reliance Energy Limited-AAACPL-RADPL-ASA
- Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
- TADL-Changi Airports-Tata Power
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - Genting (Singapore) Pte Ltd
- L&T-IDPL-Unique Consortium
The development and modernization plans are only for the city-side of these non-metro airports and are expected to be completed by 2010, through public-private partnership (PPP). AAI will take care of the airside development of the airports.
The government wants the consortium of the selected bidder and the AAI to commercially operate the airports and maintain their terminal buildings. It would also be responsible to develop and operate cargo facilities at these airports, besides undertaking the city-side development.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already placed orders for equipments required for ILS-II, which will be imported from Germany-based flight safety equipment firm Thalef. The equipment is expected to arrive within two months following which the commissioning process will take place.[5]
The airport modernization process is part of the upgrade process of 35 non-metro airports in the country by 2010.
Airlines and destinations
| Destinations by Region |
|---|
Destinations by Airline
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air India | London-Heathrow, Toronto-Pearson |
| Air India (operated by Indian Airlines) |
Delhi |
| Air India Express | Dubai |
| Indian Airlines | Delhi, Sharjah |
| Jet Airways | Delhi |
| Kingfisher Airlines operated by Kingfisher Red |
Delhi |
| Turkmenistan Airlines | Ashgabat |
| Uzbekistan Airlines | Tashkent |
Ariana Afghan Airlines, and Ukraine's Aerosvit Airlines recently ceased operations to Amritsar due to low passenger loads.
Transport to/from airport
ATQ is well connected to the roads and main highways of Punjab. While private transport in the form of automobiles is the most popular way of reaching the airport, public transport infrastructure (with the exception of taxis) has remained weak. However this is set to change with the Punjab State Government's unveiling of plans to launch regular bus services between the airport and other cities of Punjab. Air India has also unveiled plans to provide regular bus services for its ATQ passengers to and from Jalandhar. The state government has also unveiled plans to build a monorail line to connect the airport with the Golden Temple and the Railway Station in Amritsar.
References
- ^ The Tribune (India) Online http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070310/aplus1.htm
- ^ Jet Airways Online - Financial Presentation http://www.jetairways.com/Cultures/en-US/United+Kingdom/Investor+Relations/Results/ResultAndPresentation200607.htm
- ^ Ibid
- ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority - Aug 2007 http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data_prov/200708/August_2007_Provisional_International_Routes.pdf
- ^ Rajasansi airport to update landing system
External links
- Amritsar International Airport
- Amritsar Travel
- Template:WAD
- Accident history for ATQ at Aviation Safety Network
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