Gondia Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAirports Authority of India
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesGondia
LocationZilmili, Gondia district, Maharashtra, India
Opened1940 (1940)[1]
Elevation AMSL987 ft / 301 m
Coordinates21°31′19″N 80°00′36″E / 21.522°N 80.010°E / 21.522; 80.010
WebsiteGondia Airport
Map
GDB is located in Maharashtra
GDB
GDB
Location of airport in Maharashtra
GDB is located in India
GDB
GDB
GDB (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
04/22 7,515 2,290 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 - March 2023)
Passengers10,707 (Increase 503.5%)
Aircraft movements554 (Increase 377.5%)
Cargo tonnage–
Source: AAI[2][3][4]

Gondia Airport (IATA: GBD, ICAO: VAGD), also known as Birsi Airport, is a domestic airport serving the city of Gondia in Maharashtra, India. It is located at Zilmili near Birsi village, 17 km (11 mi) north-east of the city centre. It is also home to the National Flying Training Institute (NFTI), where purposes of general aviation and pilot training are conducted.[5][1][6]

History

The airstrip was built by the British in 1940 during World War II as an air force base of the Royal Indian Air Force.[1] After independence, it was initially run by the Public Works Department, and then it was taken over by the state-owned Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in August 1998 to December 2005, after which it has been operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).[7] The AAI extended the runway at the airport to 7,500 feet to handle larger aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 in 2013.[8]

In March 2022, the low-cost regional airline, FlyBig, commenced regular and direct flight services to Indore and Hyderabad under the government's UDAN Scheme for improving regional connectivity and accessibility to remote regions through air from major regions of India. However, the airline indefinitely suspended operations in August 2022 for unspecified reasons after operating only for five months. Since then, the airport has remained inoperative, until in October 2023, India's largest airline, IndiGo, announced it would restart commercial operations in the airport by starting new flights to Hyderabad on 1 December 2023.[9][10]

Facilities

The airport has a single runway, oriented 04/22, measuring 2,290 m (7,510 ft) in length and 45 metres in width, with a parallel taxiway connecting to it, measuring 1,697 m (5,568 ft) in length. The main apron measures 100 m × 150 m. The airport is equipped with a Non-directional beacon (NDB), DVOR, Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and Instrument Landing System (ILS) to support the nighttime landing of aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
IndiGo Hyderabad[10]

National Flying Training Institute (NFTI)

CAE Global Academy Gondia/NFTI commenced operations at the airport after receiving the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) approval on 19 February 2009. The academy is a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CAE Inc., a Canadian aerospace company. The Gondia School is one of 11 members of the CAE Global Academy network.[6]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at GDB airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Airstrips in Maharashtra". Maharashtra Public Works Department. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Gondia Airport". Airports Authority of India. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  6. 1 2 "CAE Gondia". CAE Inc. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "MIDC airports". Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Akola, Gondia next aviation hot spots". The Times of India. 27 November 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Commercial flight operations from Birsi airport to resume from Dec 1". ET Infra. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 Joshi, Gaurav (1 November 2023). "85 Domestic Destinations: IndiGo Adds Gondia To The List". Simple Flying. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
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