Kangra-Gaggal Airport
, officially known as Kangra Airport, is a
regional airport serving areas of
Kangra including
Dharamshala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The ...
, the winter capital of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
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 located at Gaggal, which is situated from the city, from
Kangra and from
Kangra Railway Station
Kangra railway station is a main railway station in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The station lies on UNESCO World Heritage Site Kangra Valley Railway. It is located at an altitude of above mean sea level. It was allotte ...
. Kangra Airport is located on
National Highway 154, that runs between
Pathankot
Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal cor ...
and
Mandi
Mandi may refer to:
Places
* Mandı, Azerbaijan
India
* Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir
* Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh
** Mandi State, former princely sta ...
, and is the largest airport in Himachal Pradesh in terms of Passengers and Aircraft movement.
History
The foundation of Kangra airport was laid down by
Virbhadra Singh
Virbhadra Singh () (23 June 19348 July 2021) was an Indian politician who served 6 terms and 21 years as the 4th Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. A leader of the Indian National Congress party, he was elected 9 times as a Member of Legislat ...
, the then Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, on 15 October, 1986.
The first scheduled operation at this airport was by
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 ...
with a
Dornier 228
The Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft, designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier, Fairchild-Dornier) from 1981 until 1998. Two hundred and forty-five were built in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. In 19 ...
in the 1990. Subsequently other airlines like
Jagson,
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
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
also operated from this Airport. In 2001, the airport was renamed as Kangra airport.
In March 2007, the runway was extended from and a new terminal building was inaugurated. As a result, for the first time an
ATR-42
The ATR 42 is a regional airliner produced by Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR, with final assembly in Toulouse, France.
On 4 November 1981, the aircraft was launched with ATR, as a joint venture between French Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and ...
aircraft of Air Deccan landed at Kangra Airport on 28 March 2007. Subsequently, other airlines also started operating on this route, with
SpiceJet
SpiceJet is an Indian budget airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana. It is the second largest airline in the country by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 13.6% as of March 2019. The airline operates 630 daily fli ...
and
Alliance Air starting from 2013.
Structure
The airport, spread over at an altitude of has one asphalt runway, oriented 15/33, . Its
apron
An apron is a garment that is worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body. The word comes from old French ''napron'' meaning a small piece of cloth, however over time "a napron" became "an apron", through a linguistics process cal ...
provides parking space for two
turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller.
A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...
aircraft, like the
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...
, and
Dash 8 Series 400, while its terminal building can handle 100 passengers, 50 in the arrival area and 50 in the departure area. Due to its shorter runway as well as high altitude, the airport has a load penalty and aircraft at this airport are not allowed to take-off with full capacity, leading to under-utilization and higher airfares on this route.
Navigational aids include
precision approach path indicator
A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a visual aid that provides guidance information to help a pilot to acquire and maintain the correct approach (in the vertical plane) to an airport or an aerodrome. It is generally located on the left- ...
(PAPI) lights and
VHF omnidirectional range
Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...
(DVOR). The DVOR was installed in 2016, which reduced the minimum runway visibility requirement for aircraft landing at the airport from . The airport falls in Category II(c) of
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...
(ICAO) standards due to limited
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) capabilities.
Expansion plans and delays
In October 2013, for first time, the issue of expansion of Kangra Airport came up officially, when
Ministry of Civil Aviation hinted at expanding Gaggal Airport and conducting a fresh survey for expansion of the airport. In August 2014, the District Administration was ordered to carry out the expansion survey and wrote to 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) in this regard. Following this, a team of AAI Officials visited the airport in May 2015 for feasibility study and identification of land required.
In 2019, the team visited the adjacent area of the airport and identified the land for expanding the runway from . However, this proposed expansion would require total of and would mean displacement of almost all of the Gaggal Township which is located about from the Airport and lies directly in the proposed path of airstrip expansion. As a result, in January and February 2020, there were demonstrations by the locals against the government.
In March 2021, Obstruction Level Survey (OLS) for proposed expansion was carried out by AAI. In the revised survey of AAI, the length of runway was to be expanded to , by first constructing a bridge over the Manjhi River, which flows in between the Gaggal township and the airport. Thereafter, the runway is to be expanded to by acquiring the land beyond Gaggal township, cutting through
National Highway 154, which would also require the realignment of the highway.
In March 2022, AAI came up with a two phase expansion plan for Kangra Airport.
*In Phase 1, the runway is to be expanded by around , from current , which would require construction of a runway bridge over the Manjhi River, just short of Gaggal township. If first phase is completed, it will help turboprop airplanes in taking off and landing at the Gaggal airport with full capacity without load penalty.
*In Phase 2, the runway is to be increased by , taking the increased length of runway from . This expansion will enable narrow bodied turbofan aircraft like
Airbus-320/330 and
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...
to easily operate from this airport. This would not only providea major boost to the tourism sector for Kangra district, but would also serve
Chamba Chamba may refer to:
People
* Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer
* Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist
Places Ghana
* Chamba, a town in the Northern Region
India
* Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...
,
Hamirpur and
Una
Una and UNA may refer to:
Places
* 160 Una, the asteroid "Una", an asteroid named after the Faerie Queene character
* Una River (disambiguation), numerous rivers
* Una, Himachal Pradesh, a town in India
** Una, Himachal Pradesh Assembly constit ...
districts.
A total of Rs 400 Crores were recommended by the
Fifteenth Finance Commission
The FifteenthFinance Commission (XV-FC or 15-FC) is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for fivefiscal years, commencing 2020-04-01. The commi ...
for the expansion of Kangra Airport, which have been granted by the Central Government.
Proposed expansion plans
Last year, the expansion plans were released to general public so that they can plan accordingly to rehabilitate or relocate to newer places.
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
References
External links
*
Kangra (Gaggal) Airportat
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 ...
web site
{{Airports in India
Airports in Himachal Pradesh
Transport in Dharamshala
Transport in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Airports with year of establishment missing