Bellary Airport is an airport serving

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ball ...

, a city in the Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. It was once served by

Tata Airlines Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

and

Vayudoot Vayudoot ( hi, वायुदूत, Vāyudūt, messenger who rides on the wind) was a regional airline in India established on 20 January 1981 as a joint-venture between the two state-owned carriers, Indian Airlines and Air India. The airline ...

. Bellary was a part of the first commercial flight of india which was from Karachi to Madras, flown by J.R.D Tata on 15 October 1932. This is the first airport of Karnataka built as early as 1932. However, as of May 2018, the airport is without commercial air service.

Jindal Vijaynagar Airport Jindal Vijaynagar Airport is a domestic airport, regional airport serving Toranagallu, Karnataka. Because of its location near Vidyanagar Township, the airport is also known as Vidyanagar Airport. It is owned and operated by JSW Steel, which o ...

, located about west of the city, is used instead for this purpose. A new airport for Bellary is being planned as well.

History

Bellary Airport existed as early as 1932, when it figured in an airmail service operated by

(now Air India). The service operated

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

–

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

–

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

–

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

selected Bellary because of its strategic location and the presence of many troops in the city. Afterward, regional carrier

operated flights to Bellary. In 2004, the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

decided to permit commercial flights from an airstrip owned by Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Ltd (JVSL) in

Toranagallu Toranagallu, or Torangal, is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 928100 Toranagal, Bellary, Karnataka It is located in the Sandur taluk of Bellary district in Karnataka. Demographics India census, Toranagallu h ...

, from Bellary. The airstrip would serve Bellary as well as nearby

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (town), Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire i ...

and

Hospet Hospet also known as Vijayanagara is the largest city and district headquarters of the Vijayanagara district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River and is 13 km from Hampi. The present day Ham ...

. This decision resulted in protest from some citizens, who felt the airstrip would only benefit JVSL workers and who wanted Bellary Airport to be upgraded instead. The State Government responded by saying there was no space to extend and widen the runway to make it capable of receiving larger aircraft. Between December 2006 and 2009, the JVSL airstrip received flights from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Air Deccan Air Deccan is an Indian regional airline currently operating from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It flies to a total of four destinations using Beech 1900D aircraft, as of November 2019. As of October 2021, the airline has temporarily suspended operatio ...

and later

Kingfisher Red Kingfisher Airlines Limited was an airline group based in India. It was established in 2003 and started its commercial operations in 2005. Through its parent company United Breweries Group, it had a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. ...

. There are now plans to build a new airport for Bellary. In January 2006, the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

announced it would establish a

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

station for

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

at Bellary Airport. Construction was carried out by the company

Indra Sistemas Indra Sistemas, S.A. () is a Spanish information technology and defense systems company. Indra is listed on the Bolsa de Madrid and is a constituent of the IBEX 35 index. Indra is organized around three business areas: information technologies, ...

and was completed by September 2011.

Airfield

Bellary Airport has one runway, 12/30, which measures and is connected to a single taxiway at its southern end.

Notes

References

{{Airports in India Airports in Karnataka Bellary Buildings and structures in Bellary district Transport in Bellary district Airports established in 1932 1932 establishments in India

History

Airfield

See also

Notes

References