Mangalore International Airport

For the airport in Australia, see Mangalore Airport (Australia).

Mangalore International Airport
Mangalore Airport Terminal building
IATA: IXE – ICAO: VOML IXE Location of airport in India
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Airports Authority of India
Location		Mangalore, India
Elevation AMSL		337 ft / 103 m
Coordinates		12°57′41″N 074°53′24″E / 12.96139°N 74.89°E / 12.96139; 74.89
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
09/27	5,300	1,615	Asphalt
06/24	8,038	2,450	Concrete

Mangalore International Airport, (IATA: IXE, ICAO: VOML) formerly known as Bajpe Airport, is a domestic and international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. The airport was opened on 25 December 1951^[1] as the Bajpe Aerodrome when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru arrived on the maiden flight on a DC-3 Dakota aircraft.^[1][2] In 2007-08 the airport handled 10,019 aircraft movements as compared to 6,268 the previous year,^[3] and in 2010 it handled 8.04 lakh passengers.^[4]

The airport is located near Bajpe, around 20 km (12 mi) north-east of the city centre. Several daily flights connect Bajpe with most major cities in southern and western India as well as many major cities in the Middle East. Until 2005, its small 1,600 m (5,249 ft) runway meant that it could only handle Boeing 737-400 sized aircraft the longer runway now handles slightly larger aircraft.

The operation of international flights started in 2006 with Air India Express flying to Dubai.

Overview

Old terminal building

The airport is located on top of a hill, with the runway landing approaches leading up to the extreme edges of the hill sides and thus called a table top runway.^[5][6] Only two other airports in India have table top runways - Kozhikode and Lengpui.^[7] The edges of the hill dropping into the valley from a height of about 90 m (300 ft) to 9 m (30 ft)) within a short distance of just 500 m (1,600 ft) on the east side of the runway and from about 83 m (272 ft) to 25 m (82 ft) on the western side.^[5] An additional disadvantage was that the runway was not level, with the height varying from 90 m (300 ft) to 83 m (272 ft) from east to west. Landing on this short runway at this airport was considered difficult.^[5]

On 10 January 2006 an Airbus A319 of Kingfisher Airlines was the first aircraft in that class to land on this runway.^[8] The number of passengers using Mangalore Airport has gone up by 100% last year (from 260,000 to almost 500,000).^[8]

Second runway

A second runway of length 2,450 m (8,038 ft) was opened on 10 May 2006. A Jet Airways flight from Bangalore with 95 passengers on board became the first to land on this runway.^[9] With this, Mangalore Airport has become the first airport in Karnataka to have two runways,^[10] and also the first to have a runway which is made of concrete.^[11] The airport has acquired land to build a taxiway parallel to the new runway to reduce aircraft on ground time.^[3]

Union minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel had announced on 15 May 2010 that a work order for extending the runway to 9,000 feet (2,740 m) would be issued soon,^[12] subsequently after the air crash of Air India Flight 812 the minister reaffirmed on 30 May 2010 that the runway extension will take place and will take into account the spillover area required during an emergency.^[13]

On 11 July 2011 at the meeting of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, it was informed that the Karnataka Government will be issuing preliminary notification for the acquisition of land for the extension of runway at the Mangalore airport. The process of land survey for runway expansion has been started, and the preliminary notification for acquisition would be issued in a week. Around 156 acres will be required for runway expansion, and an amount of Rs 15 crores has been set aside in the State Budget for Mangalore airport work.^[14]

New terminal building

The new airport project was taken up to be developed in an area of about 583 acres (2.36 km²) of land. In the first phase a 43,000 m² (460,000 sq ft) apron was constructed at a cost of 18.19 crore (US$3.69 million) and connected to the second runway.^[15] The new terminal building built over 70 acres (280,000 m²) of land and constructed at a cost of 150 crore (US$30.42 million),^[16][17] with work completing in December 2009.^[17] It is centrally air-conditioned, and covers an area of 18,220 square metres. It is equipped with two aerobridges with provision for adding more in the future. It is designed to separately handle domestic and international passengers. The apron can accommodate four A310 class and an A321 class aircraft at a time, with provision for three more aircraft to be added at a future stage. Including the old airport, the total capacity of the airport is nine aircraft and two helicopters.^[18]

The road to the new terminal reduces the distance between Mangalore and the airport by about 8 km (5.0 mi).^[16] The airport had the trial run of the terminal for domestic flights on 16 December 2009.^[19] On 15 May 2010, the terminal building was inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel,^[20] along with Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. B. S. Yeddyurappa. It was to be opened to air traffic on 1 July 2010, but it became operational on 2 August 2010 due to the delays caused by the Air India Express Flight 812 accident.^[21][22]

Since 1 September 2010, the airport is charging a User Development Fee (UDF) of 150 (US$3.04) per passenger for domestic flights and 825 (US$16.73) for international flights. This proposal has been approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry.^[23]

As of 15 May 2010, 26 domestic flights and 52 international flights are operated every week.^[24]

International flights

Air India Express at Mangalore Airport

On 3 October 2006, Air India Express flight 802 from Dubai became the first international flight to land at Mangalore.^[25] On 15 February 2007, Air India Express added connections to Abu Dhabi and Muscat,^[26] with Doha and Bahrain added as a new destination on 25 March.^[27] On 17 July 2008, Kuwait and Sharjah too were added by the airline. It later terminated the Sharjah route.At Hajj times ther will be service of Saudi Arabian Airlines to Mecca and Medina.

Air cargo facility

There is a proposal to convert the old terminal building into a cargo terminal. It was stated by the Minister for Aviation that this requires the extension of the runway to handle larger aircraft.^[28]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Mumbai
Air India Express	Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Kozhikode, Kuwait, Mumbai, Muscat
Jet Airways	Bangalore, Mumbai
Kingfisher Airlines	Bangalore, Mumbai, Vijayawada
SpiceJet	Chennai, Hyderabad

Accidents and incidents

• On 19 August 1981, Indian Airlines Flight 557, a HAL 748 VT-DXF overshot the 5,783 feet (1,763 m) runway at Mangalore-Bajpe Airport in wet weather. The aircraft came to a halt just beyond the runway edge. While there were no fatalities, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off. One of the passengers on board was Veerappa Moily, then Finance Minister of Karnataka,^[29] Veerappa Moily who then went onto become Chief Minister of Karnataka and currently Cabinet Minister for Law, Justice and Company Affairs in the Government of India.

• On 22 May 2010, Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737-800 VT-AXV, flying on the Dubai-Mangalore route, overshot the 8,033 feet (2,448 m) runway number 06/24, killing 158 people including 6 crew on-board; only 8 survived. The aircraft landed and subsequently crashed when it overshot the runway and veered into a steep gorge at the very end.^[30] The starboard wing impacted the concrete socket of the Instrument Landing System localiser antenna, breaking it and rendering it unusable,^[31] this resulted in delayed or canceled flights during two weeks when the monsoon rains reduced visibility.^[31] It took the airport a little under a month to repair and calibrate the ILS and bring it back online.^[32]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "First man who landed in Mangalore: Airport is fine". Rediff News. 2010-05-26. http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/may/26/first-man-who-landed-in-mangalore-airport-is-fine.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-31. 
2. ^ "The Green Green Fields Of Home". Manglorean.com. 2006-09-29. http://www.mangalorean.com/browsearticles.php?k=0&articleid=771&arttype=Feature. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Land for parallel taxiway at Bajpe Airport notified". Manglorean.com. 2008-06-11. http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=80796. Retrieved 2008-07-03. 
4. ^ "Passenger traffic up in Mangalore Airport". The Hindu. 2011-02-02. http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/02/stories/2011020263250200.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-22. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Hi-fliers on a high". The Hindu. 2006-12-16. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2006/12/16/stories/2006121600490100.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. 
6. ^ "Mangalore airport upgradation plan -- Economic `gains' vs local `interests'". Environment Support Group. 1998-07-17. http://www.esgindia.org/campaigns/bajpe/press/Mangalore%20airport%20upgradation%20plan%20--%20Economic%20%60gains'%20vs%20local%20%60interests'.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-29. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ "Indian skies are safe for flying: Kanu Gohain, Ex-Director General, DGCA". The Economic Times. 2010-05-23. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/Indian-skies-are-safe-for-flying-Kanu-Gohain-Ex-Director-General-DGCA/articleshow/5964029.cms. Retrieved 2010-05-23. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Kingfisher Creates History - Airbus A-319 Trial Flight Lands at Bajpe". DaijiWorld. 2006-01-13. http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=17758&n_tit=Mangalore%3A%20Kingfisher%20Creates%20History%20%2D%20Airbus%20A%2D319%20Trial%20Flight%20Lands%20at%20Bajpe. Retrieved 2006-11-03. 
9. ^ "New runway at IXE opened for commercial operations". The Hindu. 11 May 2006. http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/11/stories/2006051123470100.htm. Retrieved 10 January 2011. 
10. ^ "New runway at Bajpe airport meets all norms". The Hindu. 2006-09-21. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/05/26/stories/2006052623420100.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-08. 
11. ^ "Pilot training programme at Bajpe airport from Sunday". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 2007-01-04. http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/04/stories/2007010416020300.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-08. 
12. ^ "Rs 100 crore more for upgrading Mangalore airport". Press Trust of India. 2010-05-15. http://www.ptinews.com/news/654275_Rs-100-crore-more-for-upgrading-Mangalore-airport. Retrieved 2010-05-25. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "Mangalore airport runway length to be increased by 1,000 ft". The Hindu. 2010-05-30. http://beta.thehindu.com/news/article441808.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
14. ^ http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/article2218925.ece Mangalore runway expansion: Preliminary notification soon for land acquisition
15. ^ "AAI completes work on new apron at Kenjar". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 2008-05-02. http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/02/stories/2008050251751100.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
16. ^ ^{a b} "New terminal almost ready at Mangalore airport". Bangalore Mirror. 2007-06-29. http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=73&contentid=200906292009062920384773455a8987c&sectxslt=. Retrieved 2009-08-10. 
17. ^ ^{a b} "Integrated Terminal at Mangalore Airport to be ready by Sept". SahilNews. 2009-06-26. http://www.sahilnews.org/english/news.php?catID=coastalnews&nid=5729&viewed=0. Retrieved 2009-08-10. 
18. ^ Mangalore Crosses Another Milestone – Airport Terminal Inaugurated
19. ^ "Successful trial run of domestic flight". Times of India. 2009-12-16. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/Successful-trial-run-of-domestic-flight/articleshow/5344908.cms. Retrieved 2010-02-09. 
20. ^ "Mangalore airport may go international soon". Times of India. 2010-05-15. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/Mangalore-airport-may-go-international-soon/articleshow/5935521.cms. Retrieved 2010-05-17. 
21. ^ "New Airport Terminal to open tomorrow". Times of India. 2010-08-01. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/New-airport-terminal-to-open-tomorrow/articleshow/6241875.cms. Retrieved 2010-08-01. 
22. ^ "New Integrated Terminal Building of Mangalore Airport at Kenjar In Action". Daijiworld. 2010-08-02. http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=82491. Retrieved 2010-08-04. 
23. ^ "UDF at M'lore airport from 1 September". The Times Of India. 2010-08-10. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/UDF-at-Mlore-airport-from-Sep-1/articleshow/6289153.cms. 
24. ^ Big boost for Mangalore airport - Bangalore - DNA
25. ^ "First International Flight Lands At Bajpe". Bellevision Global. 2006-10-03. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20061029174346/http://www.bellevision.com/indexdetail.asp?lupd=435. Retrieved 2006-10-04. 
26. ^ "Muscat - Maiden Flight to Mangalore flagged off in style". Mangalorean.com. 2007-02-15. http://www.mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=39307. Retrieved 2006-03-27. 
27. ^ "A jolly ride on board Air India Express". Mangalorean.com. 2007-03-25. http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=41160. Retrieved 2006-04-07. 
28. ^ Kumar N D, Shiva (2010-05-22). "International airport status may be delayed". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangalore/International-airport-status-may-be-delayed/articleshow/5962493.cms. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
29. ^ "Moily's close shave in Mangalore 30 years ago". The Hindu. 2010-05-22. http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article435656.ece. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
30. ^ "150 killed as Air India plane crashes in Mangalore". Hindustan Times. 22 May 2010. http://www.hindustantimes.com/150-killed--as-Air-India-plane-crashes-in-Mangalore/H1-Article1-546915.aspx. Retrieved 22 May 2010. 
31. ^ ^{a b} Pinto, Stanley G (2010-06-09). "Airline companies bleed as flights get canceled". Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Mangalore/Airline-companies-bleed-as-flights-get-cancelled/articleshow/6029343.cms. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 
32. ^ "Instrument Landing System Begins Operation at Mangalore Airport Again". DaijiWorld.com. 2010-06-17. http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=79343. Retrieved 2010-06-17. 

External links

	India portal
	Karnataka portal
	Aviation portal

• Airport information for VOML at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• Accident history for IXE at Aviation Safety Network