Coimbatore International Airport

Coimbatore International Airport கோயம்புத்தூர் பன்னாட்டு வானூர்தி நிலையம்
IATA: CJB – ICAO: VOCB CJB Location of airport in India
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of India
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Coimbatore Metropolitan Area
Location	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Elevation AMSL	1,311[1] ft / 400 m
Coordinates	11°01′36″N 077°02′30″E / 11.02667°N 77.04167°E[1]
Website	www.airportsindia.org.in
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 05/23 9,760 2,990 Asphalt
Statistics (Apr2015-Mar2016)
Passenger movements 16,91,553(18.4%) Aircraft movements 17,935(1.4%) Cargo tonnage 7,792(6.8%)
Source: AAI[2][3][4]

Coimbatore International Airport^[5] (IATA: CJB, ICAO: VOCB) is the primary airport serving the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. It is located at Peelamedu, about 13 km (8.1 mi) from the center of the city. Previously known as Peelamedu Civil Aerodrome, it is the 15th largest airport in India in terms of total aircraft movement, 18th largest in terms of passengers handled and 13th largest in terms of cargo handled. About seven domestic and three international airlines serve the airport.

History

The airport commenced operations in 1940 as a civil aerodrome with Indian Airlines operating Fokker F27, Douglas DC-3 and later Hawker Siddeley HS 748 aircraft.^[6] Beginning with services to Chennai and Bangalore, other destinations like Cochin and Mumbai were added later. The airport was modernized with an extended runway to accommodate larger aircraft like the Boeing 737 and was reopened in 1987. The Sulur Air Force Base located further east of Coimbatore was temporarily used for civil aviation during this period. As of 2012, the airport is served by more than ten domestic and international carriers.

The Prime Minister of India declared the government's intention to upgrade Coimbatore Airport to International status in a meeting with senior ministers on 6 June 2012^[7] and the Union Cabinet granted it the status of international airport on 2 October 2012.^[8]

Infrastructure

Coimbatore airport facade showing new terminal buildings

The airport has one runway that is 9,760 feet (2,970 m) in length extended from 8,500 ft (2,600 m) to accommodate larger aircraft.^[9] In 2008, the airport was expanded at a cost of ₹780 million (US$12 million) with aero bridges, parking bays and Instrument Landing System (ILS).^[10] In 2010, new domestic and international divisions were added to the already existing common terminal.

The airport has a parking management system with a capacity to accommodate nearly 300 cars.^[11] There are two hangars in the airport; one provides housing for the planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, the other provides shelter for private carriers.

Proposed Expansion

The further proposed expansion of the airport includes extension of runway to 12,500 ft (3,800 m) to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 and construction of a parallel taxiway to the runway to minimize runway occupancy time and turnaround time of aircraft.^[12] Two more parking bays will be added, raising the total number of bays to ten.

Connectivity

The airport is located on Avinashi Road about 10 km (6.2 mi) from the central bus station. Frequent bus services are available from Gandhipuram central bus station and also from other auxiliary bus stations at Singanallur and Ukkadam. The airport is 11 km (6.8 mi) from the major railway station, Coimbatore Junction and the nearest rail stations are at Singanallur and Peelamedu. Cab services, call taxis and auto rickshaws provide 24 hours commuting services to the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Primarily a domestic airport, the airport had provisions for, and has been operating certain international flights primarily from Sharjah since the 1990s and from Singapore since 2006. Srilankan Airlines operated to Colombo before the service was suspended due to security concerns.^[13] flyDubai has shown interest to connect to Dubai. Air Carnival, a regional airline plans to start operations in May 2016 with this airport as the main hub.^[14][15] The airport will become TruJet's base in the state when the airline expands its operations.^[16] Regional carriers Air Pegasus and Air Kerala have shown interest in flying to the airport.^[17]

Passenger

An Air India flight at the airport

Airlines	Destinations
Air Arabia	Sharjah
Air Costa	Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur,[18] Vijayawada
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai
IndiGo	Agartala, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad (begins 22 June 2016),[19] Kolkata, Mumbai
Jet Airways	Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai
Silkair	Singapore
SpiceJet	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam (begins 1 June 2016)

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Blue Dart Aviation	Chennai, Delhi

Incidents

• On 17 November 2007, a major accident was averted when the wing of a SpiceJet Boeing 737, bound for New Delhi with 130 passengers, almost struck the wing of a stationary Air Deccan A320 aircraft.^[20]

See also

• Sulur Air Force Base
• Airports in India

References

1. "Coimbatore Airport". airportsindia.in. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
2. "Traffic Statistics-2015" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
3. "Aircraft Movements-2015" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
4. "Cargo Statistics-2015" (PDF). AAI. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
5. "Coimbatore Airport". airportsindia.org. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
6. "Flights, Coimbatore Airport". mapsofindia.com. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
7. "Prime Minister holds infrastructure meet, but Mukul Roy is missing". NDTV. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012. Prime Minister said this year will see a series of new projects being commissioned, including international airports for Lucknow, Varanasi, Coimbatore, Trichy and Gaya
8. "Cabinet grants international airport status to five airports". The Economic Times (New Delhi). 4 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
9. "Extended runway ready at Coimbatore Airport". The Hindu. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
10. "Coimbatore airport to get a new look". The Hindu. 28 October 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
11. "New parking system at Coimbatore Airport". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 1 April 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
12. Palaniappan, V. S. (19 May 2012). "Airport land acquisition process under way". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 26 July 2015.
13. "It's now a buzzing airport!". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
14. Ananth, MK (1 February 2016). "Coimbatore airport sees increase in passenger movement". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
15. "Air carnival joins the aviation race". Business Standard. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
16. "Trujet to pick up flyers from hometown". Times of India. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
17. "Survey of routes for Air Kerala begins". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
18. "Air Costa Schedule". Retrieved 3 March 2016.
19. "Introducing first flight between CJB and HYD". Twitter. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
20. "Collision averted at Coimbatore airport". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 26 July 2015.

External links

• Coimbatore airport website