Moradabad Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of India | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India[1] | ||||||||||
| Serves | Moradabad, Sambhal, Amroha and Rampur | ||||||||||
| Location | Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | ||||||||||
| Opened | 10 March 2024 [2] | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 637 ft / 194 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°49′10″N 078°55′24″E / 28.81944°N 78.92333°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  MZS Location of airport  MZS MZS (India) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Moradabad Airport is a domestic airport in the city of Moradabad, situated midway between Moradabad and Rampur on National Highway 9 in Uttar Pradesh (UP).[3] Being 19 km (12 mi) from the Moradabad Railway Station and 15 kms from the Rampur Railway Station, it's strategically located to serve both districts. It has been developed by upgrading the existing government airstrip.[4][5]
Owned and operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), it's one of the five key airports in Western UP region besides Hindon, Agra, Bareilly and Aligarh. At 63.80 ha (157.65 acres),[6] it's also the 4th largest airport in the region by land area. It has a peak capacity of 100 passengers per day, and is capable of serving up to 100,000 passengers every year. In future its capacity is planned to be increased up to 1 million passengers per year.
As of April 2024, it has been inaugurated but flight operations are yet to commence from it. There's also no reliable information regarding the possible date of its operationalization, as a flight schedule has not been officially announced for the airport.[7]
History
The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) asked the State Government in November 2012 to hand over the airfield in Moradabad along with an additional 120–140 ha (300–350 acres) of land, free of cost, to the AAI in order to upgrade the airfield for commercial operations. The AAI had proposed to develop a taxi track, an apron, isolation bay, navigational aids, localiser, glide path, terminal building, Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and hangars.[8] The Uttar Pradesh cabinet approved to hand over the airstrip to AAI in September 2013.[9]
The Government of Uttar Pradesh then signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in February 2014 for the development of this airstrip into a domestic airport.[10] Construction of the airport began in 2015, and it was completed along with an upgraded runway, a taxi track, the approach road, and the passenger terminal in June 2022.[11] The contract was earlier awarded to RITES, but was cancelled and awarded to the Uttar Pradesh State Construction Corporation.[12] The airport was constructed on 52 ha (130 acres) of land at a cost of ₹28.93 crores.
Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, and UP Forest Department granted No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the airport in February 2023, and the license from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was granted in November 2023.[11]
The completed airport was inaugurated on March 10, 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a virtual inauguration ceremony along with 4 other airports.[13] Other airports inaugurated during the ceremony included Azamgarh, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, and Shrawasti airports.[14] This increased the number of operational airports in Uttar Pradesh from 10 to 14, making it the state with most operational airports in the country.
Terminals
The terminal building of the airport spans an area of 1,250 m2 (13,500 sq ft).[6] It features:
- 4 check-in counters
- Arrival and departure gates
- Sitting capacity for 50 passengers
- 2 baggage inspection (XBIS) machines
- 2 parking ways
It's set to be expanded or replaced by a larger terminal in the future development plans of the airport.
- Other views of the Moradabad Airport Terminal
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Airlines and destinations
As of April 2024, the airport is yet to commence operations. First flight is scheduled for Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on a 19-seater aircraft from Flybig Airlines, though a date has not been announced yet. A second flight is planned for Kanpur Airport sometime in May 2024.[15]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FlyBig | Lucknow (yet to commence as of March 18, 2024)[16] |
Future
The AAI plans to expand the Moradabad Airport in two phases, and it has asked for 200 ha (500 acres) of land to be provided free of cost for this expansion from the UP Government.[17] In the first phase, a new terminal building with area of 10,000 square meters is planned, which will increase the peak capacity of airport to 500 passengers per day and 10,00,000 passengers per year. The runway is planned to be expanded to 3,200 m × 45 m (10,499 ft × 148 ft) from the current 2,112 m × 30 m (6,929 ft × 98 ft) to facilitate the landing of Code-C aircraft.[6] Other planned expansions during this phase include:
- Two taxiways
- Apron and ground support equipment for parking of four A-321 aircraft
- New ATS tower
- Fire station
- A larger car parking space
In the second phase, the airport is planned to be further expanded with a terminal building of up to 20,000 square meters. During peak hours, it will be able to handle up to 1,600 passengers per day and up to 25,00,000 passengers per year.[6]
References
- ^ "MoU Signed for Development of Airports in UP". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "अक्टूबर में शुरू हो सकती है मुरादाबाद से दिल्ली तक की फ्लाइट, 19 सीटर एयरक्राफ्ट से होगी यात्रा". Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ http://cadup.gov.in/devofairport.htm [bare URL]
- ^ "Untitled Page". Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- ^ http://cadup.gov.in/devofairport.htm [bare URL]
- ^ a b c d "Moradabad airport will transport one million passengers annually". Hindustan. 11 March 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Moradabad Airport: फ्लाई बिग कंपनी को नहीं मिल पा रहे पायलट, महीने भर बाद शुरू हो सकती है उड़ान सेवा". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ "Govt sets the ball rolling on Centre's proposal to develop airports". The Indian Express. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ "Shelved by Maya,Akhilesh nod to develop Meerut airstrip as airport". The Indian Express. 4 September 2013.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "MoU Signed for Development of Airports in UP". Press Information Bureau. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Moradabad Airport: हवाई पट्टी से एयरपोर्ट तक के सफर में लगे 10 साल, आखिरकार कारोबारियों की मुराद आज होगी पूरी". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Air strips to come up at Moradabad, Chitrakoot". The Hindu. 12 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 November 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ "Moradabad Airport Inaugurated: मोदी ने किया मुरादाबाद हवाई अड्डे का लोकार्पण, मंडलवासियों के सपनों को लगे पंख". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "PM Modi inaugurates T3 of Lucknow airport along with 5 other airports in Uttar Pradesh". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "कानपुर से अलीगढ़ व मुरादाबाद के लिए एक मई से मिल सकती उड़ान, पढ़ें कितना होगा किराया - Flights from Kanpur to Aligarh and Moradabad can be availed from 1 May read how much will be the fare". Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Moradabad Airport: Fly Big Orders Six Planes From Canada For Early Flight". Amar Ujala. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Moradabad airport will be expanded in 500 acres of land". Hindustan. 25 December 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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This page was last edited on 4 April 2024, at 13:21