Agartala Airport

Agartala Airport আগরতলা বিমানবন্দর Agôrtôla Bimanbôndôr
IATA: IXA – ICAO: VEAT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Agartala, Tripura, India
Location	Singerbil
Elevation AMSL	47 ft / 14 m
Coordinates	23°53′24″N 091°14′32″E / 23.89000°N 91.24222°E / 23.89000; 91.24222
Website	www.aai.aero
Map
IXA Show map of Tripura IXA Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 7,500 2,286 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2015-Mar 2016)
Passenger movements 921,591(4.8 %) Aircraft movements 7,158(6 %) Cargo handled 5,456(4 %)
Source: AAI,[1][2][3]

Agartala Airport (IATA: IXA, ICAO: VEAT) is a domestic airport located 12 km (6.5 nautical miles) northwest of the city of Agartala, the capital of the state of Tripura in India. It is administered by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).^[4] It is the third busiest domestic airport in northeast India after Imphal and is proposed to be upgraded as an international airport. A modern air traffic control tower has been set up for the purpose.^[5][6] Presently IndiGo operates five, SpiceJet two and Air India operates one daily and one three-times-a-week scheduled passenger flight to and from this airport.

Air traffic control tower

The terminal as viewed from the apron

History

The airport was designed and built in 1942 by the Maharaja of Tripura Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur.^[7] It had one primary runway, 05/23, which is now used as a taxiway to Runway 18/36.

During World War II, the airport was used by the 4th Combat Cargo Group (4th CCG) of the United States Army Air Forces Tenth Air Force, flying Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft over Burma. The airport was used as a supply point from which the unit air-dropped pallets of supplies and ammunition to the advancing Allied forces on the ground.^[8]

The 4th CCG operated from the airport during December 1944 and January 1945, after which it moved to Chittagong.

The airport has experienced international operations in the distant past when Indian Airlines used to fly for various locations like Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport and Khulna in East Pakistan/Bangladesh from Agartala.

In 2015, Airports Authority of India started upgrading the airport to international standards.^[9]

Connectivity with the city

Bus: Agartala Airport is approximately 11.5 km away from the main bus stand of the city. One can find a good number of private buses, and can also hire auto-rickshaws.^[10]

Rail: Railway connection is limited to Agartala Railway Station, located approximately 15.4 km from the airport.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger airlines

Accidents and incidents

• 30 December 1949: a Douglas C-54A-DO cargo aircraft of Bharat Airways flying from Agartala airport to Calcutta airport crashed in Comilla, East Pakistan. The aircraft had a technical problem and crash landed in a village; all seven crewmembers died after the aircraft exploded, and many villagers were also injured.
• 9 July 1958: a cargo Douglas C-47A-75-DL of Indian Airlines flying from Agartala Airport to Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport crashed near Dhaka, East Pakistan. All three crewmembers died. During the preflight briefing the pilots were told about poor weather en route, but no weather deterioration at Dhaka was reported. Last contact with the flight was at 08:05 GMT when entering the Dhaka Control Zone. The cause was reported as structural failure in the air.
• 29 March 1959: A Douglas DC-3 of Indian Airlines with 20 passengers and 4 crewmembers crashed 56 km west of Silchar killing all 24. The DC-3 was operating on a flight from Calcutta to Imphal via Agartala and Silchar. The aircraft took off from Agartala at 10:10 for a 50-minute flight to Silchar. En route weather was poor (thunderstorms in the area southwest of Silchar). The aircraft didn't arrive at its destination and was found to have crashed due to structural failure.
• 21 April 1969: a Fokker F27 Friendship of Indian Airlines took off from Agartala Airport with 40 passengers and 4 crew bound for Khulna Airport, East Pakistan. It faced strong down currents while approaching Khulna. The crew tried to fly through the thunderstorm at low level but lost control in severe downdrafts and the aircraft crashed near the airport, killing all 44 people on board.
• 7 June 1970: A Fokker F27 of Indian Airlines flying with 34 passengers and 4 crew members overran the runway at Agartala after it touched down at a higher than normal speed 2,775 feet from the threshold; however, none of the passengers or crew members lost their lives. The airplane was later written off.^[11]

See also

• Airports in India
• List of busiest airports in India by passenger traffic

References

1. ↑ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - FREIGHT HANDLED" (jsp). Aai.aero. Retrieved 2016-07-16. 
2. ↑ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS" (jsp). Aai.aero. Retrieved 2016-07-16. 
3. ↑ "TRAFFIC STATISTICS - AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS" (jsp). Aai.aero. Retrieved 2016-07-16. 
4. ↑ Civil Airport Agartala at Airports Authority of India
5. ↑ http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/agartala-airport-to-be-made-international-airport_1504063.html
6. ↑ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-07/news/47126400_1_agartala-airport-cpi-the-airport-authority
7. ↑ tiprasa.com/article/viewcomm/asp?identity=701
8. ↑ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4
9. ↑ Upgradation of Agartala airport to start in Feb 2016: Minister
10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2013-03-30. 
11. ↑ http://www.aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=IXA

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agartala Airport.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

• Agartala Airport - India Airport Global website
• Current weather for VEAT at NOAA/NWS
• Airport information for VEAT at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
• Airport information for IXA/VEAT at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Accident history for IXA/VEAT: Agartala-Singerbhil Airport at Aviation Safety Network

USAAF Tenth Air Force in World War II
Airfields	Burma Bhamo Myitkyina Namponmao Sahmaw Tingkawk Sakan India Agartala Asansol Barrackpore Chakulia Chittagong Dinjan Dohazari Dudhkundi Dum Dum Fenny Guskhara Hailakandi Hathazari Kalaikunda Karachi Ledo Nagaghuli Nawadih Pandaveswar Panagarh Piardoba Sookerating Sylhet Tezgaon Tezpur Tulihal
Units	Groups Air Commando 1st Air Commando 2d Air Commando Bombardment 7th Bombardment 12th Bombardment 341st Bombardment Combat Cargo 1st Combat Cargo 3d Combat Cargo 4th Combat Cargo Fighter 23d Fighter 33d Fighter 51st Fighter 80th Fighter 81st Fighter 311th Fighter Reconnaissance 8th Reconnaissance Troop Carrier 443d Troop Carrier Squadrons 24th Combat Mapping 426th Night Fighter Squadron 427th Night Fighter Squadron
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

Picture gallery

• Agartala airport Picture Gallery
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  Rear view of the airport

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  SpiceJet carrier at Agartala Airport

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  IndiGo carrier at Agartala Airport

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  Airport apron

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  Inside the airport locating the arrival site