Rajkot Airport
Summary
Airport typePrivate
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesRajkot
LocationRajkot, Gujarat, India
Passenger services ceasedSeptember 10, 2023 (2023-09-10)
Elevation AMSL135 m / 443 ft
Coordinates22°18′33″N 070°46′46″E / 22.30917°N 70.77944°E / 22.30917; 70.77944
Maps
RAJ is located in Gujarat
RAJ
RAJ
RAJ is located in India
RAJ
RAJ
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 1,843 6,047 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 – March 2023)
Passengers770,605 (Increase 83.3%)
Aircraft movements7,662 (Increase 80.5%)
Cargo tonnage890 (Increase 28.6%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Rajkot Airport (IATA: RAJ, ICAO: VARK) is a private airport serving the city of Rajkot, Gujarat, India. It was the 4th busiest airport in Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara.[4]

Development

Rajkot Urban Development Authority and Rajkot Municipal Corporation proposed a plan to extend the runway from 5,400 feet (1,600 m) to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) to accommodate larger aircraft and to build an apron for parking of four Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 type aircraft, which will help to provide better connectivity to major cities besides Mumbai, and to cater to a large demand from the manufacturing companies located in Rajkot, for handling and transport of cargo, which are now completed. The airport presently suffers from considerable capacity restraints, due to the expansion of the city and because of the residential and commercial areas surrounding it, which renders the plan to extend the runway further from 1,800 m unfeasible. As it is incapable of serving aircraft larger than Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 (which is the largest aircraft operating from the airport), a plan for an entirely new airport was launched and began construction in 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the new airport at Hirasar, held on 7 October 2017.[5] The new airport is situated near NH-27 (East-West Highway), and is about 36 km (22 mi) from Rajkot. It was expected to be completed by December 2023, however, it was completed before time and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 July 2023.[6][7] All flight operations from the airport were shifted to the new Rajkot International Airport on 10 September 2023, to deal with the increasing traffic and connect new destinations, along with international destinations, from Rajkot.[4]

Airlines and destinations

All flights have been shifted to the new Rajkot International Airport in Hirasar on 10 September 2023.[4]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at RAJ airport. See Wikidata query.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Rajkot Airport shut: Commercial ops shift to new international airport today". The Indian Express. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Narendra Modi in Gujarat: PM presides over 'bhumi pujan' of greenfield airport at Hirasar near Rajkot". Firstpost. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Greenfield Airport in Rajkot to be ready by 2023 end". Adeex News. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  7. ↑ Sen, Anindita (27 July 2023). "Gujarat gets first Greenfield Airport! PM Modi inaugurates international airport near Rajkot". The Financial Express. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
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