Puducherry Airport
| Puducherry Airport புதுச்சேரி விமான நிலையம் |
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New terminal
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| IATA: PNY – ICAO: VOPC | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | AAI | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Puducherry | ||||||||||
| Location | Lawspet | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 134 ft / 41 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 PNY
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Puducherry Airport (IATA: PNY, ICAO: VOPC) is an airport located at Lawspet in Puducherry, a Union territory of India. The airport has scheduled flights to Bangalore, as well as charter flights and operations of the local flying training school. In 2007, the Puducherry Government decided to expand the airport to accommodate larger aircraft and commissioned a new terminal building.[1] The new terminal was inaugurated on 17 January 2013 with the arrival of a SpiceJet flight from Bangalore.[2]
History
The airport was constructed in 1989. Between that year and 1991, regional airline Vayudoot flew to Chennai, Neyveli, and Bangalore, however the flights were not successful and all were ended. The airport remained in disuse for the following two decades.[3]
In June 2007, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the local government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for expansion of the airport. For the first phase, 19.92 hectares of land were acquired at Rs 18.95 crore. Then the new terminal was constructed and the runway extended by 260 m (853 ft), allowing for the landing of ATR aircraft. This phase was completed in late 2012. The second phase of expansion involves acquiring 200 more acres of land to extend the runway by an additional 1,100 m (3,609 ft), allowing larger jet aircraft to land at the airport.[4]
On 17 January 2013, SpiceJet began the first flights to the modernised airport from Bangalore. However, only one year later the service was cancelled due to poor passenger loads.[3][5]
On 14 April 2015, Alliance Air brought the airport back into operation with flights again from Bangalore, subsidised by the Puducherry Government. Flights were suspended six months later due to "payment issues", and it is unknown when service will resume.[6]
Facilities
Pondicherry Airport has one asphalt runway, oriented 07/25, 1500 metres long and 30 metres wide. It has a 100 by 150 metre apron and its new terminal building can handle 300 passengers during peak hours. Navigational aids at Pondicherry include an Aerodrome beacon.[7]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pondicherry Airport. |
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 SpiceJet announces Pondy flight schedule. The New Indian Express. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Jaisankar, C. (31 January 2014). With last flight, Puducherry airport runs out of steam. The Hindu. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External Links
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