Gorakhpur Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military/Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Indian Air Force | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Gorakhpur | ||||||||||
| Location | Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh,India | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 79 m / 259 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 26°44′22″N83°26′58″E / 26.73944°N 83.44944°E /26.73944; 83.44944 | ||||||||||
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  GOP  GOP | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024) | |||||||||||
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Gorakhpur Airport (IATA:GOP,ICAO:VEGK) (proposed to renameMahayogi Gorakhnath Airport)[4][5] is adomestic airport and anIndian Air Force base serving the city ofGorakhpur, in the state ofUttar Pradesh,India. TheAirports Authority of India (AAI) operates it as acivil enclave at the Air Force base. The airport is located 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city centre. The airport covers an area of 0.71 acres (0.29 ha). In June 2017, the passenger terminal was inaugurated by theChief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,Yogi Adityanath. It is the third busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh afterLucknow International Airport andVaranasi International Airport in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft movements.[6]
The airport is one of the bases of theIndian Armed Forces (IAF), which operates underCentral Air Command of theIndian Air Force. IAF operatesNo. 16 Squadron IAF,No. 27 Squadron IAF andNo. 105 Helicopter Unit from here. These squadrons have regular military exercises; other than this, they actively take part in rescue operations.SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft andMil Mi-17 helicopters are based here.[7]
According to a May 2024 report, the air base is being upgraded for the joint deployment ofMQ-9B drones of Indian Army and Indian Air Force along withSarsawa AFS.[8]
The airport has one runway, designated 11/29, and has dimensions of 2,743 by 46 metres (9,000 ft × 150 ft). The existing terminal can handle 200 passengers in peak hours, and has an area of 23,500 sq.ft.[9][10]
On 28 March 2021, theChief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,Yogi Adityanath laid thefoundation stone for the extension of the existing terminal building at a cost of₹26.87 crore, which will be spread in an area of 3,440 sq.m.[11][12] Equipped with two conveyor belts in the arrival hall, 10 check-in-counters, escalators, lifts, restaurant and an additional security holding area in the first floor, the extended terminal building will be able to handle the 200 passengers during peak hours.[12]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Akasa Air[13] | Bengaluru,Delhi[14] |
| Alliance Air | Delhi |
| IndiGo | Bengaluru,[15]Delhi,Hyderabad,Kolkata,Mumbai[16] |
| SpiceJet | Delhi,Mumbai[17] |
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org. |
A new terminal which can handle 10 aircraft at a time is proposed and construction work is supposed to start by March 2025.[18]
The crash happened barely 15 minutes after it took off from Gorakhpur air base along with two other Jaguars for routine exercise.
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