Coimbatore International Airport is the primary airport serving the industrial cities of

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

and

Tiruppur Tiruppur or Tirupur ( ) is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tiruppur is the administrative headquarters of Tiruppur district and the fifth largest city as well as an urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of Noyyal Ri ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. It is located in the neighbourhood of

Peelamedu Peelamedu is a major commercial centre and residential locality in the Eastern part of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is governed by Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation since 1981. The growth of Peelamedu during the last de ...

, about from the center of Coimbatore. It is the 18th-busiest airport in India for passengers handled, 17th-busiest for total aircraft movement and 15th-busiest for cargo handled. It is the second busiest airport in Tamil Nadu in terms of total passenger traffic after

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest air ...

. The airport is served by five Indian and three foreign carriers providing direct connectivity to nine domestic and three international destinations.

History

The

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

declared the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

's intention to upgrade Coimbatore Airport to international status in a meeting with senior ministers on 6 June 2012 and the Union Cabinet granted it the status of international airport on 2 October 2012. CJB airport

Infrastructure

The airport has one runway, which was extended to from in order to accommodate larger aircraft. In 2008, the airport was expanded at a cost of with 9 parking bays and

Instrument Landing System In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

(ILS). In 2010, new domestic and international divisions were added to the already existing common terminal. The airport has a parking management system with a capacity to accommodate nearly 300 cars. There are two hangars in the airport; one provides housing for the planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, the other provides shelter for private carriers. 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 ...

(AAI) has proposed to construct a new domestic departure terminal building with swankier interiors on the eastern side of the airport. The terminal would be constructed in an area of with a cost of around Rs 125 crore. Tender process for environmental clearance has started for the construction of the new terminal building and associated works, such as the construction of new ATC Tower cum Technical Block and Admin Block. The further proposed expansion of the airport includes extension of runway to to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and construction of a parallel taxiway to the runway to minimize runway occupancy time and turnaround time of aircraft.

Statistics

Airlines and destinations

Connectivity

The airport is located on Avinashi Road about from the central bus station. Frequent bus services are available from

Gandhipuram Gandhipuram is a major place of the Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is presently named after Mahatma Gandhi. It was previously known as "Katoor". Gandhipuram evolved as the major public transportation hub after the construction of the ...

central bus station and also from other auxiliary bus stations at

Singanallur Singanallur is a major residential locality of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the banks of Noyyal river, which runs to the southern boundary of the locality. It is situated in the eastern part of the city, and is ...

and

Ukkadam Ukkadam is a part of Townhall locality in the core part of the city of Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Ukkadam Bus Terminal, which is one of the seven major bus stands in the city, is located in this neighborhood. Ukkadam is famous for its Fish M ...

. The airport is from the major railway station,

Coimbatore Junction Coimbatore Junction railway station, also known as Kovai Junction railway station (station code: CBE), is the primary railway station serving Coimbatore city. History Train service in Coimbatore with construction of the Old_Coimbatore Railwa ...

and the nearest rail stations are at Singanallur and

. Cab services, call taxis and auto rickshaws provide 24 hours commuting services to the airport.

Incidents

* On 13 December 1950, a

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

(registered VT-CFK) of

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 ...

carrying 17 passengers and four crew from

Bombay 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- ...

, crashed into high ground near

Kotagiri Kotagiri or Kothagiri is a taluk and a Panchayat town in The Nilgiris District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the third largest hill station in the Nilgiri hills. Kotagiri is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographi ...

due to a navigational error, killing all on board.

References

External links

Details of Coimbatore airport on AAI website
{{Airports in India Airports in Tamil Nadu Transport in Coimbatore Buildings and structures in Coimbatore 1940 establishments in India