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Begumpet Airport

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For the main airport in Hyderabad, see Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Begumpet Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
Owner/OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesHyderabad
LocationBegumpet, Telangana, India
OpenedJune 1936 (1936-06)
Passenger services ceased23 March 2008 (2008-03-23)
Elevation AMSL532 m / 1,744 ft
Coordinates17°27′11″N 078°28′03″E / 17.45306°N 78.46750°E / 17.45306; 78.46750
Map
BPM is located in Telangana
BPM
BPM
BPM is located in India
BPM
BPM
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 3,230 10,597 Macadam

Begumpet Airport (IATA: BPM, ICAO: VOHY) is an airport that serves Hyderabad in Telangana, India. It is located in Begumpet and caters to general and military aviation. The airport is home to the Begumpet Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. Begumpet was built by the Princely State of Hyderabad in the 1930s and served as the city's commercial airport for several decades. It eventually became overcrowded, with little room for expansion. Therefore, a new airport was erected in Shamshabad. Upon the opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on 23 March 2008, Begumpet ceased all commercial operations.

History

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In 1934–1935, Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad, decided to establish an airport in Begumpet on the outskirts of Hyderabad.[1][2] The Hyderabad State Aero Club was inaugurated at Begumpet in June 1936. A short time later, Tata's service from Karachi to Madras began operating via Begumpet instead of the Hakimpet airfield.[3] Princess Durr-e-Shehwar laid the foundation stone for a terminal building during the Nizam's silver jubilee festivities in 1937.[4][5] The following year, the Nizam's State Railways Air Department introduced flights from Madras to Bangalore via Hyderabad. The route ceased at the onset of the Second World War.[6] Service to Bangalore resumed for a brief period in 1940.[7] The airport was among the most developed in India at the time of the war.[6]

During the war, the state government granted control of Begumpet to the Directorate of Civil Aviation.[6] The Royal Air Force took over and set up a flying school in 1942.[6][8] In May 1946, the maiden flight of Deccan Airways from Begumpet to Bangalore took place.[7] The airline operated India's first Hajj flight from the airport five months later.[9] As of 1948, civilian flights to Hyderabad landed at Hakimpet while expansion work was underway at Begumpet.[10] In May 1950, commercial airlines moved to Begumpet.[11]

Work on the runway to enable it to handle Caravelle jets was finished in 1965.[12] In the 1970s, Indian Airlines linked Hyderabad to seven cities in the country and used Caravelles on flights to Bombay.[13] A new terminal was completed in 1972,[14] and Begumpet handled 250,000 passengers in 1975.[15] The airport had international flights to Sharjah and Kuwait in the 1990s.[16]

In the 1990s, the government of Andhra Pradesh decided to build a new airport for Hyderabad. Officials ultimately chose a site in Shamshabad, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the city.[17] Passenger counts were climbing quickly at Begumpet, and the terminals were inadequate.[18] There was little room to expand the airport as the development of the surrounding areas meant that Begumpet was now in the middle of the city.[4] The growth of Hyderabad's information technology and pharmaceutical industries added more pressure to construct a new airport.[18] In 2004, the Indian government signed a concession agreement with the consortium building the Shamshabad airport that required commercial operations at Begumpet to cease when the new airport opened.[17][19]

In February 2005, Lufthansa commenced a nonstop flight between Hyderabad and Frankfurt,[20] and Air Sahara opened a hub at the airport.[21] The Airports Authority of India responded to the rising traffic by adding another jet bridge and five parking stands.[22] Between April 2006 and March 2007, 5.8 million travellers passed through the airport, a 44% increase over the previous year.[23] The final passenger flight to take off from Begumpet was a Thai Airways International flight to Bangkok at 00:25 on 23 March 2008. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport opened the same day.[24] When scheduled service ended, Begumpet was the sixth busiest airport in India and was served by 10 Indian and 13 foreign airlines.[4]

Facilities and operations

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The airport has one runway named 09/27. It measures 3,230 by 45 metres (10,597 ft × 148 ft) and is made of macadam.[25]

Begumpet is used for flight training and houses an air force station. Businesspeople, politicians, and others fly into the airport on their private aircraft.[26][27] Begumpet also hosts Wings India, the country's first civilian air show. The biennial event is organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and Airports Authority of India. It was first held in October 2008 under the name India Aviation.[28][29]

During the period of commercial operations, Begumpet was officially called Hyderabad Airport and had two terminals. The domestic terminal was named for N. T. Rama Rao; the international one, for Rajiv Gandhi.[30]

Accidents and incidents

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  • On the night of 12 January 1978, an Indian Airlines Boeing 737-200 operating a flight from Bombay to Hyderabad had just touched down when the crew saw a man on the runway. The aircraft struck him, and he died on the way to a hospital. The investigation determined that the man had breached security at Begumpet Airport.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Ifthekhar, J. S. (13 March 2008). "One thing the seventh Nizam dreaded the most". The Hindu.
  2. ^ Report on the Administration of H.E.H. the Nizam's Dominions for the Year 1344 Fasli (6th October 1934 A.D. to 6th October 1935 A.D.). Government Central Press. 1938. p. 84.
  3. ^ Hussain, Mazhar (1943). H.E.H. the Nizam's Government Statistical Year Book 1349 Fasli (1940 A. D.) (With Comparative Statistics from 1344 Fasli). Government Central Press. p. 865.
  4. ^ a b c "Now kids play cricket at Hyderabad's old airport". Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. 28 March 2008. ProQuest 470318367.
  5. ^ Shahid, Sajjad (4 May 2014). "PM Reddy: An aviator and engineer par excellence". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Iqbal, Aashique Ahmed (2023). The Aeroplane and the Making of Modern India. Oxford University Press. pp. 191–192. ISBN 978-0-19-286420-8.
  7. ^ a b "Deccan Airways inaugurated". The Indian Express. 25 May 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Training command". Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  9. ^ Akbar, Syed (26 July 2018). "1st Haj flight took off with just 18 pilgrims". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  10. ^ Iyengar, S. Kesava, ed. (1947–1948). The Hyderabad Government Bulletin on Economic Affairs. Vol. 1. Hyderabad State Government. p. 686.
  11. ^ "Begumpet Aerodrome opened to scheduled services". The Indian Express. 9 May 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  12. ^ Nanporia, N. J., ed. (1967). The Times of India Directory & Yearbook, Including Who's Who. p. 252.
  13. ^ "Effective 1st April, 1977 (Updated 4.7.77)". Indian Airlines Schedules: Route map, table 2.
  14. ^ Srinivas, M. (7 March 2008). "Helping city soar to greater heights". The Hindu.
  15. ^ Stroud, John (1980). Airports of the World. London: Putnam. p. 166. ISBN 9780370300375.
  16. ^ Ahmed, M. (12 May 1997). "IAF Grounds Hyderabad International Airport Plan". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b Reddy, B. Dasarath (15 March 2005). "Work on Hyd intl airport to start on March 16". Business Standard. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b P. V., Sivakumar (15 May 2006). "Promise of world-class experience". The Hindu BusinessLine.
  19. ^ "Centre confirms closure of Hyd's old airport". Business Standard. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Lufthansa starts Hyderabad-Frankfurt service". Rediff. Press Trust of India. 18 February 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Air Sahara's Hyderabad hub inaugurated". Hindustan Times. 5 February 2005. ProQuest 470586307.
  22. ^ Srinivas, M. (30 June 2006). "Begumpet airport to get one more aero-bridge". The Hindu.
  23. ^ "Annexure III: Traffic Statistics" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  24. ^ Srinivas, M. (23 March 2008). "Begumpet Airport slips into annals of history". The Hindu.
  25. ^ "Aeronautical Information Publication for Begumpet". Airports Authority of India. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  26. ^ Srinivas, M. (5 January 2009). "Begumpet airport turns a boon for tycoons". The Hindu.
  27. ^ "IAF Training Command chief visits Air Force Station". The Hindu. 26 November 2022. ProQuest 2740097609.
  28. ^ Shafeeq, Mohammed (18 October 2008). "India Aviation show proves a big hit". The Hindustan Times. Indo-Asian News Service. ProQuest 471446306.
  29. ^ "Major airlines, officials give Hyderabad's Wings India aero show a miss". Mint. 10 March 2018. ProQuest 2012330275.
  30. ^ "Hyderabad Airport". Airports Authority of India. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Accident Summary 1978". dgca.gov.in. Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
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