Biju Patnaik Airport is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

serving

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...

, the capital city of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is situated around south-west of

Bhubaneswar Railway Station Bhubaneswar Railway Station (BBS) serves Bhubaneswar, the capital of the Indian state of Odisha and it is the headquarters of the East Coast Railway zone of the Indian Railways. History During the period 1893 to 1896, 800 miles of East Coast St ...

and from the city center. Named after

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Early life His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam distri ...

, the former

Chief Minister of Odisha The chief minister of Odisha, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Odisha. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Followin ...

and a famed aviator and freedom fighter, it is the 14th busiest airport in India and the 11th busiest among the airports maintained by 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 ...

. It is the 18th busiest airport in India in terms of cargo traffic. In the fiscal year 2023-24, it handled over 4.6 million passengers and over 9.8 thousand metric

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...

of cargo.

History

The airport was dedicated to the people of

on 17 April 1962, becoming the first ever commercial airport in the state. The airport boasts two active scheduled passenger terminals i.e. Terminals 1 and 2 for domestic and international passengers respectively. In March 2013, the former Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh, inaugurated the Terminal 1, which caters to domestic passengers, whereas Terminal 2 was then refurbished to handle international operations. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

accorded international status to the airport on 30 October 2013 after

Air India 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 ...

started flights to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

and

AirAsia Capital A Berhad, () operating as AirAsia (stylized as ''airasia'') is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operate ...

started flights to Kuala Lumpur. However, these routes were terminated later due to Covid19. International operations recommenced from Bhubaneswar in May 2023 after

IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

started direct flights to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. In May 2023, the airport opened a 4 MW solar plant, which switched it to a fully sustainable and energy-saving airport, by running entirely on renewable energy. In May 2024,

resumed international operations from the airport with flights to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Infrastructure

Biju Patnaik Airport serves as one of Eastern India's major civil aviation hubs. The airport boasts two actively scheduled passenger terminals, i.e., Terminals 1 and 2.

Terminals

Terminal 1

Inaugurated in March 2013, the terminal has a capacity of 4 million passengers per annum and was built at a cost of 1.45 billion by

Lanco Infratech Lanco Infratech (Lagadapati Amarappa Naidu and Company Infratech) was a large Indian conglomerate that became insolvent in 2017. It was involved in construction, power, real estate, and several other segments. One of the first Independent Pow ...

. The AAI has developed the new terminal as part of the upgrade of 35 non-metro airports across the country. Terminal 1, a two-storied building with a total area of , consists of 4

aerobridges A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, m ...

, 4 elevators, several escalators, 18 check-in counters, 3 arrival luggage conveyors, a spa, and multiple seating areas. Apart from the Departure and Arrival Lounges, Terminal 1 also has several other lounges, including VIP Lounges, Pal Heights Spa Lounge, Dakota Lounge and Mayfair Lounge. The terminal is environment-friendly, built according to green building standards, with sewage treatment plants and provision for rain water harvesting. The internal walls of the terminal are decorated with tribal motifs, designs, masks, and sculptures derived from Odisha's culture. The new terminal also has food kiosks, gift shops, bookstores, art galleries and handloom/handicraft kiosks.

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 handles international operations. It was built in the mid-1960s to cater domestic flights. The terminal being built over an area of , consists of 6 check-in counters, 10 immigration counters, 4 customs counters, numerous amenities and multiple seating areas. Constructed with a budget of 872 million, a link building connects Terminal 1 and 2, majorly used for domestic and international arrivals.

International Cargo Terminal

With an annual cargo handling capacity of 26,490 metric

, the Biju Patnaik International Airport is one of the major Air Cargo hubs in

Eastern India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadha fr ...

. Air cargo operations at the airport is managed by

's Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited, i.e. the AAICLAS.

Runways

The airport has two intersecting

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

s, the primary runway 14/32 for all major operations, and the secondary runway 05/23 for

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

operations.

Coast Guard Air Enclave

Indian Coast Guard The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India with jurisdiction over its territorial waters including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally esta ...

's Air Enclave along with its 743 Dornier Squadron was commissioned by former Vice-Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal,

Director General of the Indian Coast Guard The Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (DG ICG) is the head of the Indian Coast Guard. The DG ICG has their office in the Coast Guard Headquarters (CGHQ) in New Delhi. Appointed by the Government of India, the DG ICG reports to the Minis ...

at the Biju Patnaik International Airport on 15 December 2014. The units operate under the operational and administrative control of the Commander of the Coast Guard Region (North East) through the Commander, Coast Guard District No 7 (Odisha). Several strategic air operations are streamlined and synergised for the protection of the sea areas off the Coastal Odisha.

Airlines and destinations

Incidents

* On 22 December 2007, while

Surya Kiran Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually w ...

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

's aerobatics demonstration team, was undergoing training exercise, one of its four

HAL HJT-16 Kiran The HAL HJT-16 Kiran ("Ray of light") is an Indian two-seat intermediate jet-powered trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by aircraft company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Kiran was developed at the behest of the Indian Air Forc ...

jets, after refueling and takeoff, caught fire and crash landed on the runway of Biju Patnaik Airport. The pilot was safely rescued with minor injuries and the exercise was immediately called off after the mishap.

References

External links

Biju Patnaik International Airport
at

{{Airports in India Buildings and structures in Bhubaneswar Airports in Odisha International airports in India Transport in Bhubaneswar Memorials to Biju Patnaik 1962 establishments in Orissa Airports established in 1962 20th-century architecture in India