Members :Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited – BAPL
Durgapur Airport (KNIA) located in Andal near the town of Durgapur in the state of West Bengal in Eastern India is South-Asia’s first private greenfield airport. The airport is licensed to handle category 4C type of aircrafts which translates into the 200 pax carrying capacity i.e. typically Airbus 321 or Boeing 737-900 and is operated by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited a company with highest stakes by Govt of West Bengal (through WBIDC) & Changi Airports International of Singapore respectively. An Aerotropolis is an urban plan where the layout, infrastructure and economy is centered around the airport.
The airport has 4 Code C aircraft parking bays (Power in/push back), a feature rich passenger terminal building with all amenities having capacity of 1.2 million passengers per annum, Instrument Landing Systems and other full-fledged and mandatory navigational aids like DVOR, PAPI, DME, etc.
The airport caters primarily to 5 districts of south Bengal i.e. Bardhaman (East & West), Bankura, Birbhum & Purulia besides Dhanbad & other coal and mineral rich regions of the adjacent state of Jharkhand. The principal areas that get served by this airport are the Steel Township of Durgapur, the Coal & Steel belt of Dhanbad, Asansol & Ranigunj, the Defence (Army & Air Force) hub of Panagarh and the cultural & educational town of Shantiniketan. Thus the airport gets business travellers and tourist throughout the year. A new development is Student Traffic and Medical Tourism as the catchment area is developing very fast in these aspects.
Air Traffic Services i.e. Tower is operated/manned by Airport Authority of India and Meteorological Services by Indian Meteorological Department as is mandated and is the law of the land. West Bengal Police provides Airport Security Unit/Airport Security Group services, while other ground services like Airside Management, Terminal Operations, Safety Functions, Business Development, etc. is managed by BAPL under the active guidance of GoWB & Changi Airport, Singapore.
Presently there are flights to Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar and Mumbai from Durgapur Airport with Airbus 320/321 with capacity of 180/232 passengers operated by Indigo Airlines. We expect addition of more airlines and flights in the coming days.
A separate state of the at Cargo Terminal was inaugurated on the 31st of July 2023 for smooth movement of cargo to/from Durgapur Airport. Thereby further enhancing the airport’s status as a hub for cargo. This will unlock the airport’s full potential, driving sustained industrial and economic development in Durgapur and its surrounding areas.
– Link to BAPL website
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