Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport is a domestic airport serving

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

, the capital of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is the 23rd highest commercial airport in the world at above mean sea level. The airport is named after

19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Ngawang Lobzang Thupstan Chognor (), commonly known as 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche (19 May 1918 – 4 November 2003) was a Buddhist lama, who also served as India's ambassador to Mongolia. He is mainly known for his efforts in reviving Budd ...

, an Indian statesman and monk, whose

Spituk Monastery Spituk Monastery, also known as Spituk Gompa or Pethup Gompa, is a Buddhist monastery in Spituk, Leh district, Ladakh, northern India. 8 kilometres from Leh. The site of Spituk was blessed by the Arhat Nyimagung. It was founded by Od-de, the eld ...

is in direct vicinity to the airfield.

Military use

Due to the presence of mountain winds in the afternoon, all flights take off and land in the morning. The approach is challenging as it is unidirectional and has high terrain towards the eastern end of the airport.

Airport security Airport security includes the techniques and methods used in an attempt to protect passengers, staff, aircraft, and airport property from malicious harm, crime, terrorism, and other threats. Aviation security is a combination of measures and hum ...

is highly restricted with

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

patrols. Due to its location in between the Himalayas, the approach to Leh Airport has been named as one of the world's most scenic approaches.

Civilian use

Civil aviation enclave

In February 2016, it was reported that the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, 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 ...

had handed the airport to

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 ...

, which planned to expand it for civilian purposes. However, the reports of IAF vacating the entire air base were dismissed by

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and Deputy Commissioner of Leh. They clarified that the IAF would vacate only a small part of land for construction of a new terminal. Construction of a new terminal has been completed. The new multi-level terminal is expected to span across approximately 19,000 square metres along with fixed link bridges and a utility building of around 3,340 square metres. New terminal Due to increasing traffic, the Airports Authority of India is constructing a new state-of-the-art passenger terminal just beside the current terminal, at a cost of ₹ 480 crores. It will be equipped with all modern and essential passenger-friendly facilities and amenities. It will have a 4-star rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) rated energy-efficient terminal building, and will have 18 check-in counters, in-line baggage handing system and centralized cooling and heating systems for providing comfort to the passengers, specially during extreme winter times. It will be capable of serving 2 million passengers per annum. Construction of the new terminal began in February 2019, and is expected to be completed by December 2022.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

References

External links

Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport
at

website
IAF's ALG
Transport in Leh Airports in Ladakh Airports with year of establishment missing {{India-airport-stub