Begumpet Airport

Infobox Airport
name = Begumpet Airport
nativename = బేగంపేట విమానాశ్రయము
nativename-a = Hyderabad Airport


IATA = HYD
ICAO = VOHY
type = Military/Public
owner =
operator = Airports Authority of India
city-served =
location = Hyderabad (India)
elevation-f = 1,742
elevation-m = 531
coordinates = coord|17|27|11|N|078|28|03|E|type:airport|display=inline
website = [http://aai.aero/allAirports/hyderabad_generalinfo.jsp aai.aero/allAirports/...]
r1-number = 09/27
r1-length-f = 10,600
r1-length-m = 3,231
r1-surface = Asphalt
footnotes = Ceased Operations Effective March 23rd 2008

Begumpet Airport Airport codes|HYD|VOHY at Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabad Airport, used to be the only international airport in Andhra Pradesh, however, it is now defunct with the opening of the Hyderabad International Airport on the 23rd of March 2008. It is a civil enclave located in Begumpet. The airport is host to the Andhra Pradesh Aviation Academy, Rajiv Gandhi Aviation Academy (RGAA) and the Begumpet Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force as well.

Begumpet airport used to provide two check-in terminals; Rajiv Gandhi International and NTR National with a common arrival module. The airport handled both international and domestic traffic for Hyderabad and was the 6th busiest airport in India. It was the largest hub of Air Sahara with 126 flights.

Begumpet airport had 13 parking bays in operation around the new terminal block and five more are used as "night parking bays" on the Northern side, next to the old block. This is sufficient to handle the A 320 and Boeing 737. These parking bays could comfortably handle flights considering the growth rate over the next three years,

With the replacement by Hyderabad International Airport in March, 2008, Begumpet, which is located in the heart of the Hyderabad metropolitan area, is now used for military aviation training and for flights carrying VIPsFact|date=February 2007. The Leftist political parties have made strong representations to the civil aviation ministry to allow Begumpet airport to continue to be used for low cost civil aviation purposes for which it seems ideally suited. The Civil Aviation Ministry has put the proposal of starting an ATC training centre in the Begumpet Airport.

The airport used to have limited night landing facilities and only 40% of Andhra Pradesh's international traffic flows through the airport, due to lack of direct flights. [PDFlink| [http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/Economic%20Survey/economic6.pdf Airports in Andhra Pradesh] |4.53 KiB ] President George W. Bush's Air Force One landed and took off from Begumpet during his visit to Hyderabad in early 2006. Begumpet airport's capacity has reportedly been exceeded in both domestic and international areas due to the rate of growth in passenger traffic, estimated at 45% p.a., last year, the highest among Indian airports. Begumpet Airport handled 20,000 passengers daily with about 300 aircraft movements of 16 international and 10 domestic airlines. Begumpet's capacity endowment was more than expected to start with or it has fine tuned its slot control regime to cope better with demand. All this raises questions about the actual use to which the IAF puts this base and why it cannot be kept open in future.

The state government has great hopes of establishing new airports in 8 towns and connecting them to Hyderabad and other existing airports. The last flight to take off was Thai Airways International flight TG 330 to Bangkok on 22 March 2008.

History

Begumpet Airport was established in the 1930s with formation of Hyderabad Aero Club. Initially it was used by Nizam of Hyderabad. The terminal building was created in 1937. [ [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Museum/Begumpet.html Begumpet Airport History] ] . A new terminal building came up on the south side and later became the main airport. The older terminal hitherto was referred to as 'Old Airport'.

References

External links

* [http://www.hyderabadplanet.com/hyderabad-airport-begumpet-photos.html Photos of Hyderabad Airport at Begumpet on HyderabadPlanet.com]
* [http://aai.aero/allAirports/hyderabad_generalinfo.jsp Hyderabad Airport] at Airports Authority of India web site
* [http://www.hyderabad.aero New Hyderabad Airport]
* [http://www.newhyderabadairport.com/ New Hyderabad Airport]
* [http://www.glorioushyderabad.com/begumpet.html A Complete information of Hyderabad]
* [http://www.hydintlairport.com Hyderabad International Airport - HYDintlAirport.com]

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