Swami Vivekananda Airport
| Swami Vivekananda International Airport Mana Airport स्वामी विवेकानंद अंतराष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डा, रायपुर | |||||||||||
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| IATA: RPR – ICAO: VERP | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of India | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Raipur, Naya Raipur | ||||||||||
| Location |
Mana, Raipur, chhattisgarh,  India | ||||||||||
| Hub for |
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| Elevation AMSL | 1,041 ft / 317 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 21°10′52″N 081°44′18.5″E / 21.18111°N 81.738472°ECoordinates: 21°10′52″N 081°44′18.5″E / 21.18111°N 81.738472°E | ||||||||||
| Website | http://www.aai.aero/allAirports/raipur_generalinfo.jsp | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  RPR Location of airport in India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2015) | |||||||||||
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Swami Vivekananda International Airport (IATA: RPR, ICAO: VERP) (formerly known as Mana Airport) is the primary airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The airport is centrally located at Mana, 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Raipur between the old city and the new seat of the state government Naya Raipur. In 2006, this Airport witnessed an 82% increase in passenger traffic (the highest in the country for that year). The Airport is one of the 35 non-metro airports recently modernised by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
On 24 January 2012, the Union cabinet of India approved the State Government's proposal for renaming Raipur airport after the well known Indian saint Swami Vivekananda who spent 2 years of his teenage in Raipur.[2] It is currently served by Air India, Jet Airways, and IndiGo while Kingfisher Airlines suspended its operations in November 2011 due to its bad financial condition. There are also non-scheduled services by Air Odisha[3] to Bhubaneswar and Air Taxi services by Chhattisgarh Air Link which flies from here to other cities of Chhattisgarh.[4]
New Integrated Terminal
A new integrated terminal covering an area of 18,500 m2 (4.6 acres) has been constructed by a joint venture of Era Infra Engineering and KMB from Ukraine at a cost of ₹136 crore (US$20 million).[5] It was inaugurated on 7 November 2012 by President Pranab Mukherjee.[6][7] The new terminal has 2 aero-bridges, 20 check-in counters, 2 x-ray luggage machines, 3 security check points and 3 conveyor belts for luggage. The building is designed to handle 700 passengers including 200 international flyers at a time.[8][9][10][11] The terminal also has a provision on 15 immigration counters for prospective international flights. The roofing and ceiling system was developed by Polybond Organics pvt ltd as a sub contractor for Era Infra. One of the most competitive and challenging work taken by Polybond Organics pvt ltd giving the country one of the most advanced and sophisticated infrastructure solution.
Shoppers Stop has opened a retail store in the new integrated terminal making it one of the five Airport Stores operated by Shoppers Stop Ltd. in India.[12] The airport however, is likely to remain 'dry' as the Airports Authority of India has abandoned the proposal for opening of a beer bar after opposition by the public against the sale of liquor at a place named after a great saint.[13]
The proposed international terminal is being upgraded along with the runway expansion project to enable the airport to handle larger aircraft for starting international operations, connecting the city to South-East Asia and the Middle East. The new terminal will be used for domestic flights, while the proposed international terminal is being renovated to handle international operations. Currently 4 international carriers have shown interest to start operations to Bangkok, Dubai, Qatar and Singapore once the airport is ready to start international operations.[14]
The Airports Authority of India has also cleared the way for starting air cargo operations from the airport by giving nod to develop the old terminal building into a cargo complex.[15]
The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities and a CAT- 1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) as well as Navigational facilities like DVOR, DME, and an NDB. [16]
Airlines and destinations
Scheduled
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air India | Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam,Bhopal,Pune (both begins 26th may 2016) |
| IndiGo | Ahmedabad,[17] Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai |
| Jet Airways | Bhopal, Mumbai |
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Blue Dart | Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai |
Charter
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Odisha[3] | Bhubaneswar |
| Chhattisgarh Air Link[4] | Ambikapur, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur, Jashpur, Korba, Raigarh, Ranchi |
Awards and Recognition
- Ranked Number 1 in overall customer satisfaction (July-Dec 2014) in Non-Metro Category. With a score of 4.75 on a scale of 5.00, the airport topped the list of 10 best non-metro airports in the country operated by Airports Authority of India (AAI).[18][19]
- 'Best Airport of the Country in Non-Metro Category' for the year 2013 by the Union Tourism Ministry.[9][20]
Accidents and incidents
- 15 June 2012: A Border Security Force (BSF) operated HAL Dhruv, registered VT — BSN, lost altitude during a test flight at the airport dropping from a height of 100 ft. Three occupants were injured including one of the pilots sustaining serious injuries. The chopper had incurred substantial damage in the accident.[21]
References
- ↑ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS" (jsp). Aai.aero. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ↑ "Welcome to Swami Vivekananda airport!". Daily Bhaskar.com. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- 1 2 Route Map. Airodisha.com.
- 1 2 Welcome. Cgairlink.com.
- ↑ "Era Infra to revamp Raipur Airport". Business Standard. 10 September 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ↑ President inaugurates a new integrated terminal of Raipur Airport. Newstrackindia.com (7 November 2012).
- ↑ Pranab inaugurates new airport terminal in Chhattisgarh - NY Daily News | NewsCred SmartWire. India.nydailynews.com (7 November 2012).
- ↑
- 1 2
- ↑ "Mana airport’s swanky avatar to be ready by year end". Daily Bhaskar.com. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ↑ "Raipur airport to be upgradeed with Rs. 1.36 bn investment". TwoCircles.net. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ↑
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- ↑ AAI website, retrieved 25 January 2012
- ↑ "IndiGo lanches raipur Ahmedabad flight via indore". Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raipur Airport. |
- Raipur Airport at AAI
- Raipur Airport - India Airport Global Website
- Airport information for VARP at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
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