Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public/Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Operator | Guwahati International Airport Limited[1] | ||||||||||
| Serves | Guwahati,Dispur | ||||||||||
| Location | Borjhar, Guwahati,Assam,India | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1958; 67 years ago (1958) | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 49 m / 162 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 26°06′22″N091°35′09″E / 26.10611°N 91.58583°E /26.10611; 91.58583 | ||||||||||
| Website | Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  GAU Location of airport in Assam Show map of Assam GAU GAU (India) Show map of India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2024 – March 2025) | |||||||||||
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| Source:AAI[2][3][4] | |||||||||||
Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (IATA:GAU,ICAO:VEGT), orGuwahati Airport, is aninternational airport serving thelargest city of Assam and the capital of the state within it,Guwahati andDispur, inIndia. It is the primary airport ofNortheast India, and the7th-busiest airport in India. It is located atBorjhar, 26 km (16 mi) from Dispur and 28 km (18 mi) from Guwahati. It is named afterGopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the firstChief Minister of Assam after India's independence. The airport is managed by theAirports Authority of India and also serves as anIndian Air Force base.
The airport has undergone numerous expansions and renovations since its establishment in 1958, to facilitate socio-economic development, growth, connectivity andtourism in the state as well asin North-East India, as a gateway to the region. It handled more than 3.7 million passengers in 2017, an increase of 36% from 2016. The airport witnessed annual traffic of over 23% in 2018–19, with a total footfall of 5.7 million passengers and 55,066 aircraft movements in the same period. In 2023, the airport operated on its highest capacity in terms of passengers and aircraft movements ever since its establishment. It handled more than 5.6 million passengers and 46,600 aircraft till 31 December 2023, with an updated figure due in April 2024, thus almost touching its peak capacity of 6 million passengers per annum.[5]
In 2002, the first international flight operated byAir India from the airport toBangkok, using anAirbus A310 aircraft, thus becoming the first international airport in the North-East region.[6][7] However, the flight was withdrawn due to poor passenger load. In January 2019, the airport won bids for two international destinations under thegovernment'sUDAN Scheme, with destinations most anticipated beingDhaka andBangkok–Don Mueang. In November 2021, the airport won more bids, this time for six international destinations under the UDAN Scheme – Dhaka, Bangkok–Don Mueang,Kuala Lumpur,Singapore andYangon.[8]
In February 2019, the airport was given on lease for 50 years' ownership toAdani Group, at the highest bid of ₹ 160 per passenger.[9]
As of February 2024, international flights in the airport are operated byDrukair fromParo to Singapore, as a connecting flight, and byThai AirAsia to Bangkok–Don Mueang.[10][11]
To relieve the existing terminal from rising traffic and demand, a new terminal building is under construction since March 2018, and will be completed by July 2024.[12][13]
The airport has a 3,110 m (10,200 ft)-long and 60 m (200 ft)-wide runway, oriented 02/20, capable of handling widebody aircraft like theBoeing 787, and is equipped with CAT-IIIInstrument Landing System (ILS),Döppler Very High Frequency (DVOR)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) andPAPI lights facilities to allow flight operations to take place at night and during unfavourable weather conditions, like rain and fog. The airport has twoaprons–one in front of the main passenger terminal and another in front of the under-construction second passenger terminal, together capable for parking of 25 narrowbody aircraft like theAirbus A321 and Boeing 737.[14]
Terminal 1 is the existing passenger terminal since 1958. It covers an area of 28,685 m2 (308,760 sq ft), and is divided into two parts for domestic and international travellers. It has three levels–the ground floor for arrivals, themezzanine floor for boarding area and the third floor for departures. It has fouraerobridges, and is capable for serving 20,000 passengers during peak hours and 6 million passengers annually. In front of its entrance, there is a large parking space for vehicles. To its north, there is a cargo terminal along with storage areas, and to its south, there are anair traffic control (ATC) tower, a fire station, a fuel station and a technical block.[14]
The airport offers a specialised service that offers customised packages and an array of services to meet travellers' requirements, including professional assistance to corporate clients and support to group travellers, senior citizens and solo travellers.[15]
Other facilities include in-line baggage handling systems, conveyor belts, booking counters, immigration and emigration counters, check-in kiosks, CCTVs, washrooms, restaurants, lounges, multiple retail stores and souvenir shops, lost and found service, free WiFi, child care facilities, cargo services, medical facilities, facilities for physically challenged passengers, duty-free, porter service, foreign exchange counters and tourist information desks.[16]
The airport has adopted various measures such as a solid waste management system, a wastewater treatment facility, a rainwater harvesting facility, a solar power plant to the south of the terminal for generating electricity, green spaces and an underground drainage system. The upcoming Terminal 2 will also have the same features with more developed systems.[14]
To meet the growing demands and rising traffic in the future, theAirports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken construction of a second passenger terminal in the northern side of the airport, at a cost of₹1,232 crore (US$150 million).[17]
The new terminal building will be capable of handling 4,300 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours, and about 10 million passengers annually. It will be equipped with 64 check-in counters, 20 self-check-in kiosks, 10 escalators, six elevators, six baggage claim counters, 16 self-baggage drop counters, in-line baggage security screening systems, tenaerobridges, multiple retail stores, souvenir shops and passenger-friendly facilities and amenities.[18]
Thefoundation stone for the new terminal was laid by the thenMinister of Civil Aviation,Ashok Gajapathi Raju, andChief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal in January 2018, and construction began in March 2018.[19][12] It was scheduled to be ready by June 2021. However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, which caused several delays in work due to lack of labour and restrictions, it was rescheduled to June 2022.[20][21] The estimated completion date was again changed to be the end of 2023. As of February 2024, more than halfway of the work had been completed, and the date for completion and opening was set to July 2024.[5][18] As of February 2025, all works have been completed, with just the finishing touches being given. Meanwhile, the existing terminal has been optimised to cater to the rising traffic and demand, by increasing the total area to 1,000 m2 (11,000 sq ft), a significant increase from its previous size of just 270 m2 (2,900 sq ft). The new terminal is scheduled to be opened either by April or May 2025, at the earliest.[22] In March 2025, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the new terminal would be operational by late 2025.[23]
Media related toLokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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