Sonari Airport , also known as Jamshedpur Airport, is a
domestic airport in
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...
,
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
,
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 ...
, owned by
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...
. It is located approximately from the city centre. It is the main airport serving the city of Jamshedpur and adjoining regions. The airport was in commercial operations until 2016, when the operations from the airport was ceased. After efforts taken by the
Ministry of Civil Aviation,
Government of Jharkhand
The Government of Jharkhand also known as the State Government of Jharkhand, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Jharkhand and its 24 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Gover ...
and
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...
, The
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted licence to the airport for public use on 25 January 2023. It reopened for commercial operations between
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
&
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 ...
from 31 January 2023.
History
![Kingfisher Airlines Jamshedpur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Kingfisher_Airlines_Jamshedpur.png)
The airport was opened in 1940 by the
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
and gave the ownership to its subsidiary,
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...
. In past years, the airport was served by airlines like
Kingfisher Airlines
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. ...
and
MDLR Airlines, which discontinued services due to various reasons despite recording good traffic. While MDLR ceased operations due to internal issues, Kingfisher had to discontinue services in November 2009 after load restrictions were imposed due to the short length of the runway. Since Kingfisher operated larger
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 ...
and
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 by ...
aircraft respectively, operations became unviable. Scheduled flights were supposed to begin in 2018 under the government's
UDAN Scheme, however, this did not take place. After efforts from the
Ministry of Civil Aviation,
Government of Jharkhand
The Government of Jharkhand also known as the State Government of Jharkhand, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Jharkhand and its 24 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Gover ...
and
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...
, the airport has been reopened on 31 January 2023, with flight services provided by the new low-cost regional airline,
IndiaOne Air, to
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
and
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 ...
.
Future
As the airport is too small to handle regular commercial operations and also because of no space for expansion due to its location within the city, the airport will be replaced with a
new airport at
Dhalbhumgarh
Dhalbhumargh is a village in the Dhalbhumgarh CD block in the Ghatshila subdivision of the East Singhbhum District in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
History
Dhalbhum was first written about when the British Army attacked the Dhalbhum and Gha ...
, which will be built at a cost of ₹ 300 crores in two phases. It will be built on a former
World War II era airfield. It is expected to be completed by 2024, at the earliest.
Airlines and destinations
Gallery
File:Jamshedpur Airport3.png, Jamshedpur Airport in January 2000
File:Jamshedpur sonari Airport.png, Airport Terminal
See also
*
Birsa Munda Airport
Birsa Munda Airport is a domestic airport serving Ranchi, the capital city of the Jharkhand, India. It is named after the Indian tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, and is currently managed by Airports Authority of India. The airport is locate ...
*
Deoghar Airport
Deoghar Airport is a domestic airport serving Deoghar in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is situated approximately 12 kilometres (7.4 mi) from the city centre. The airport has been primarily developed to serve the region of North-Easter ...
*
Bokaro Airport
Bokaro Airport is a domestic airport owned by Steel Authority of India Limited and operated by Airport Authority of India. The airport is located in Sector 12, approximately from the city centre. The airport was included in the UDAN regional ...
*
Dhalbhumgarh Airport
Dhalbhumgarh Airport (IATA: none, ICAO: none) is a proposed domestic airport, which will serve the city of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. It will be built on a former World War II era airfield in Dhalbhumgarh in East Singhbhum district, about fro ...
*
Chakulia Airport
Chakulia Airport is an airport in India. It is located southwest of Chakulia, a town and a notified area in Purbi Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand.
Currently, the airport has no scheduled commercial airline flights. In 2006, it ...
*
List of airports in India
This list of airports in India includes existing and former commercial & private airports, flying schools, certain defence airstrips, etc. As per AAI data from November 2016, the following are being targeted for the scheduled commercial flight ...
*
List of airports in Jharkhand
References
{{Airports in India
Airports in Jharkhand
Transport in Jamshedpur
Airports established in 1940
1940 establishments in India