Swami Vivekananda International Airport (referred as VARP until February 2018), formerly known as Mana Airport, is a major airport serving the state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prad ...

, India. It is the busiest airport in

Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in al ...

and the busiest in

. The airport is located at Mana between

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Ch ...

at a distance of and from

Naya Raipur Naya Raipur, officially known as Atal Nagar-Nava Raipur, is a planned city and fully Greenfield city in Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is planned to replace Raipur as the capital city of Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chhattisgarh, the stat ...

. It is the 26th busiest airport in India by passenger traffic. On 24 January 2012, the airport was renamed after

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

, as a tribute to the popular saint who spent a major part of his life in Raipur. Swami Vivekananda Statue at Raipur Airport

Airfield

Swami Vivekananda Airport has a single runway—Runway 06/24—measuring in length and in width. The runway has been extended to . but it is not yet operationalised due to non-availability of land for Construction of perimeter Boundary wall alongside patrolling road inside airport area, unless Chhattisgarh Government handover the 24 acre land required for construction of perimeter boundary wall to AAI, the extended part of runway will not be operationalised. As of Feb 2022 the state government is yet to transfer the land. The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities such as CAT-1

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) at Runway 24, and navigational aids such as ADS-B,

DVOR 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 ...

, DME, NDB, and PAPI. Airfield Apron view at Raipur Airport

New ATC tower cum complex at Raipur airport

The apron has six parking bays which can accommodate A320/B737 category of aircraft and a helipad (Works to accommodate a 7th A320/B737 category aircraft on the apron are underway). The airport is equipped with category VI firefighting and rescue capability with provisions for category VII on demand. Arial Images of Raipur through Air India Flight AI9865 (17)

Arial Images of Raipur through Air India Flight AI9865 (17)

Terminals

New integrated terminal

The new integrated terminal was inaugurated on 7 November 2012 by then

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indi ...

. Built at a cost of about , the building covers an area of . It is designed to handle 1300 passengers at a time, including 400 international passengers. The new terminal has three aero-bridges, eight boarding gates, twenty check-in counters, eight X-ray baggage machines, four security counters, and two conveyor belts for luggage. Construction for fourth aero-bridge is under-consideration. Swami vivekananda Airport terminal Raipur

Swami vivekananda Airport terminal Raipur

Cargo terminal

The Common User Domestic Cargo Terminal (CUDCT) was inaugurated on 4 June 2016, fulfilling the long pending demand of the state to start air cargo operations. The AAI has converted the old terminal building into CUDCT to handle cargo operations.

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 ...

based GSEC Limited has bagged the contract to operate and maintain the CUDCT for an initial period of five years.

Airlines and destinations

Connectivity

The airport is located from

Raipur Junction railway station Raipur Junction is the main railway station serving the city of Raipur. It is only few of the railway stations in India which has been given the grade 'A-1' by the Indian Railways and is one of the highest-revenue-earning railway stations in Indi ...

and from Bhatgaon ISBT Raipur. It is well connected by Raipur and Naya Raipur BRTS and cabs such as

Ola Ola may refer to: Places Panama * Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province * Olá District Russia *Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast *Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast *Ola (river), a river in Magadan Ob ...

and

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...

. In addition, the Raipur Urban Public Transport Society operates direct air-conditioned city buses to the neighbouring cities of

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. With population exceeding 1 million, it is the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. Bhilai is a major industrial city as well ...

and Durg, via

Statistics

References

External links

Raipur Airport - India Airport Global WebsiteRaipur Airport at AAI
*
Change of ICAO code from VARP to VERP
{{Swami Vivekananda Buildings and structures in Raipur, Chhattisgarh Airports in Chhattisgarh Transport in Raipur, Chhattisgarh Airports with year of establishment missing