Visakhapatnam Airport
Visakhapatnam International Airport విశాఖపట్నం విమానాశ్రయం विशाखापत्तनम हवाई अड्डे | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | Indian Navy | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Indian Navy Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Visakhapatnam | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Kakani Nagar, Visakhapatnam  India | ||||||||||||||
| Hub for | |||||||||||||||
| Focus city for | |||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 15 ft / 5 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°43′16″N 083°13′28″E / 17.72111°N 83.22444°E | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 526: Unable to find the specified location map definition: "Module:Location map/data/India airport" does not exist. | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Statistics (2014-15) | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Visakhapatnam Airport (IATA: VTZ, ICAO: VOVZ) is a customs airport, with limited international service, serving the Visakhapatnam District, Vizianagaram District, Srikakulam District and parts of East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh and also parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha states in India. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) from Visakhapatnam. It operates as a civil enclave on an Indian Navy airfield named INS DEGA. The airport has experienced significant growth in the last decade, with the construction of a new terminal and runway and commencing of international flights to Dubai, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.[3]
History
In 1999 the airport was served by only one daily flight. The runway in use was originally 6,000 ft (1,800 m) and a new 10,500 ft (3,200 m) and 60 m (200 ft)-wide runway was inaugurated on 15 June 2007 to accommodate medium-sized aircrafts such as Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and wide body aircrafts like Boeing 747, Airbus A340 which can land with ease. JetLite, Air Deccan started flights inaugurating on this new run way.
With the installation and calibration of the instrument landing system, Visakhapatnam Airport got night landing capabilities in July 2007, with the Dornier of the Indian Navy taking off from the landing facility. The night landing facility became operational from 30 March 2008 for commercial airlines with SpiceJet being the first to land from Hyderabad. A new terminal building was inaugurated on 20 February 2009.[4] However, it was not operational until 27 March 2009, when the landing of a JetLite airliner from Delhi marked the commencement of operations.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| AirAsia | Kuala Lumpur |
| AirAsia India | Bengaluru (Begins 18 June 2015) |
| Air Costa | Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Vijayawada |
| Air India | Delhi, Dubai-International, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Port Blair, Raipur |
| IndiGo | Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, |
| Malindo Air | Kuala Lumpur |
| SilkAir | Singapore |
| SpiceJet | Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi (Begins 01 July 2015), Mangalore (Begins 25 October 2015), Mumbai |
Accidents and incidents
- 12 May 2007: A Paramount Airways Embraer E-170 aircraft carrying 60 passengers overshot the runway upon landing. The aircraft was operating from Chennai Airport, via Hyderabad. The aircraft was not damaged as it was caught in a 'soft ground arrester', which kept it from sliding into National Highway 5. Airport officials claimed that the crash was caused by pilot error in preparing the aircraft for a landing flare.[5]
-
The airport terminal facilities got badly damaged by the 2014 Cyclone Hudhud
- The airport was extensively damaged by Cyclone Hudhud, which struck on 12 October 2014 with winds exceeding 185 km/h (115 mph), inundating the runway and destroying navigational aids. The terminal building roof also suffered substantial damage.[6] The airport was shutdown for commercial operations on 11 October as a precautionary measure and naval and other flights carrying relief materials were the only aircraft operating from the airport.[7] The airport re-commenced partial operations from Friday 17 October after electric supply was restored to the airport. AAI restored the airport to full operations within the span of three months.[8]
References
- ^ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS" (jsp). Aai.aero. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS". Aai.aero. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ "Vizag airport terminal to be inaugurated on Feb 20". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Vizag airport terminal to be inaugurated on Feb 20". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ^ "Aircraft overshoots runway". The Hindu. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Hudhud rips through Visakhapatnam airport". The Times of India. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Visakhapatnam Airport to be Shut for a Week". The New Indian Express. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "Visakhapatnam Airport to Resume Partial Services from Today". The New Indian Express. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
External links
