Trivandrum International Airport

Trivandrum International Airport തിരുവനന്തപുരം അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര വിമാനത്താവളം Thiruvananthapuram Airport
IATA: TRV – ICAO: VOTV
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Thiruvananthapuram
Location	Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Hub for	Air India Express
Elevation AMSL	4 m / 13 ft
Coordinates
Website	trivandrumairport
Map
TRV Location in Kerala
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 14/32 3,400 11,200 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2015 - March 2016)
Passenger movements 3,470,788 Aircraft movements 26,001 Cargo tonnage 35,570
Source: AAI,

Trivandrum International Airport (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is in Thiruvananthapuram and is the first airport in the state of Kerala, India. It was the fifth international airport of India declared by then Prime Minister Shri V.P. Singh in 1991.

The Trivandrum International (TRV) airport terminal is approximately 3.7 km (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre,16 km (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach, 13 km (8.1 mi) from Technopark Thiruvananthapuram and 21 km (13 mi) from the under construction Vizhinjam International Seaport spread over an area of 700 acres (280 ha). There are flights to Middle eastern and South eastern countries from here.

Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic flight operations (except Air India) and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India.

In addition to civil operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Coast Guard for their strategic operations. IAF have an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out pilot training activities.

Trivandrum International Airport hoists Air India's Narrow body Maintenance,repair & overhaul unit — MRO consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft.

History

The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Goda Varma Raja, Consort Prince of HRH Queen Karthika Thirunal of Travancore Kingdom. Col G.V Raja, a trained pilot, felt the need an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India and requested to Travancore Durbar to initate process for establishing an aerodrome. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard.

In 1935, on royal patronage of H.H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH.83 Fox Moth aircraft under command of India's first pilot Nevill Vintcent carrying Jamshed Navoroji, a Tata company official, and Kanchi Dwarakadas, commercial agent of Travancore in Karachi with a special mail from Viceroy of British India, Lord Willingdon wishing birthday greetings to the Maharaja.

The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal (Travancore Post) to Bombay. In 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharaja's private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force (Travancore) for protection of state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for domestic flights with construction of a domestic terminal: T1.

International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707. By early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines (then Air Lanka) and Air Maldives (now Maldivian started operations. Followed by Indian Airlines, that started a service to Sharjah. On 1 January 1991, TIA was upgraded to an international airport, making it the fifth international airport of India after Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata.

On 1 March 2011, the first flight operated from the new international terminal. IX 536 (Air India Express) from Sharjah marked the first arrival. Air India Express operated the first departure to Dubai from this new terminal.

Terminals

The domestic terminal (Terminal 1)

Domestic Terminal Lounge (Terminal 1)

There are two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic (except Air India) and Terminal 2 for international flights & all domestic flights of Air India. The domestic terminal has an area of 9,200 m² (99,000 sq ft) and can handle 400 passengers at a time. The Terminal 3 (NITB: New International Terminal Building) and the International Terminal can handle 1,600 passengers at a time.

The international terminal ground operations are handled by Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. and Bhadra International India Pvt. Ltd. It is fully air-conditioned with wi-fi facility. The terminal features spacious lounges, natural lighting with extensive use of glass roofing and better conveyance facilities for passengers. It has three baggage carousels and elaborate immigration/customs facilities. Flemingo, India's first privately owned duty-free operator is managing the duty-free shop at the international terminal.

The domestic terminal has basic amenities including cafés, a beer & wine bar, a book-seller, free local calls, phone-recharging points.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Air Arabia	Sharjah	2
Air India	Delhi, Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Malé, Riyadh, Sharjah	2
Air India Express	Abu Dhabi, Chennai, Dubai–International, Kochi, Kozhikode, Muscat, Salalah, Sharjah	2
Air Pegasus	Bangalore, Mangalore	1
Emirates	Dubai–International	2
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi	2
flydubai	Dubai–International	2
Gulf Air	Bahrain	2
IndiGo	Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Varanasi	1
IndiGo	Dubai–International, Bangalore, Pune	2
Jet Airways	Mumbai	1
Jet Airways	Bangalore, Dehradun (resumes 1 October 2016), Delhi, Dammam, Doha, Muscat	2
Kuwait Airways	Kuwait	2
Maldivian	Hanimaadhoo, Malé	2
Malindo Air	Kuala Lumpur–International	2
Oman Air	Muscat	2
Qatar Airways	Doha	2
SilkAir	Singapore	2
SpiceJet	Chennai	1
SriLankan Airlines	Colombo	2

Cargo

Saudi Arabian Cargo Boeing 747-400F at Thiruvananthapuram

Airlines	Destinations
FitsAir	Colombo
Qatar Airways Cargo	Colombo, Doha
SriLankan Cargo	Colombo
Saudia Cargo	Dammam, Hong Kong, Riyadh
Emirates SkyCargo	Dubai-Al Maktoum, Hong Kong

Facilities

File:New intl terminal trivandrum.jpg

Inside Terminal 2

File:TRV Terminal 3.jpg

Terminal 2 Baggage Carousel

Terminal 2 Operational Area

The newly built Terminal 2 has three additional jetways and parking bays to accommodate 8 aircraft. The terminal is built opposite to the current terminal across the runway and is closer to the city side. The terminal, constructed by the AAI and designed by the UK firm, Pascall+Watson architects, is expected to provide impetus to the development of the IT sector and the tourism industry in the southern districts of Kerala.

The international terminal covers an area of 35,000 m² (380,000 sq ft). It is able to handle the passengers of three Airbus A340s and one Boeing 747 aircraft simultaneously (roughly 1500 passengers). The annual handling capacity of the terminal will be 1.8 million.

The check-in area has a floor area of 950 m² (10,200 sq ft) and the arrival area 600 m² (6,500 sq ft). To enable the passengers to check in at any counter, a Common Users Terminal Equipment (CUTE) is installed. X-ray machines are attached to the side of the conveyor belts for faster clearance of baggage.

The entrance to the terminal is from the Chaka-Eenchakkal road. A bridge has been built across the Parvathy Puthanar canal to link the new terminal to the Kazhakuttam-Inchivila NH (National Highway) 47 bypass. The new terminal has a car park area that can accommodate about 600 cars.

There is a pre paid taxi service counter and foreign exchange(Thomas Cook India) counter on arrivals area.

There are plans to build a parallel taxiway, an isolation bay, an aerobridge and an apron in the international terminal, a turning pad, and expand the security area in the domestic terminal. It costs Rs.130 crore.

Trivandrum airport is included in Ministry of civil aviation strategic plan for 2010-2015 to upgrade as Category-A airport by developing to aerodrome CODE 4E/4F, construct parallel runway with taxiways alongside both runways and so forth.

Visa on Arrival

The Visa on Arrival facility (VOA) service is available and allows citizens of 44 countries — Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Guyana, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand,Niue Island, Norway, Oman, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands,Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, UAE, Ukraine, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam — to obtain tourist visas upon arrival.

Cargo operations

The cargo activities at the Trivandrum Airport are carried out through the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), a government of Kerala undertaking). The cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a capacity to import 21000 MT and export 27000 MT per annum. In 2010-11 (up to December 2010), the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT of export cargo. The KSIE is developing a satellite cargo import facility on a temporary basis at the NITB terminal for perishable cargo handling till their final master plan is implemented for developing a huge cargo warehouse on 15 acres of land adjoining the NITB. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to TIA six times a week.

See also

• Cochin International Airport
• Calicut International Airport
• Kannur International Airport
• Aranmula International Airport
• Quilon Aerodrome
• Airports in India

External links

• Thiruvananthapuram Airport - India Airport Global Website