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Pithoragarh Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Uttarakhand | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Pithoragarh | ||||||||||
| Location | Naini-Saini, Pithoragarh,Uttarakhand,India | ||||||||||
| Built | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 29°35′32.85″N80°14′30.39″E / 29.5924583°N 80.2417750°E /29.5924583; 80.2417750 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  NNS Location of airport in Uttarakhand Show map of Uttarakhand NNS NNS (India) Show map of India | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2024 - March 2025) | |||||||||||
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| Source:AAI[1][2][3] | |||||||||||
Naini–Saini Airport (IATA:NNS,ICAO:VIPG), also known asPithoragarh Airport, is adomestic airport servingPithoragarh andKumaon division inUttarakhand,India. It is located at Naini-Saini, 4.5 km (2.8 mi) north-east from the city centre. The airport has been designated to be developed as a greenfield airport under thegovernment'sUDAN Scheme.[4]
The airport was constructed in 1991 for administrative use and planned for the operations ofDornier 228 type aircraft. To facilitate development, connectivity, socio-economic growth, andtourism in the state, theGovernment of Uttarakhand has upgraded it to category "2C" airport underVisual flight rules (VFR) conditions, by extending the runway and building a passenger terminal to handle commercial operations. In the coming years, the airport will be expanded further to handle larger aircraft and more passengers, with night landing facilities for aircraft to facilitate operations at night.[5] Since the opening of the airport, it was used only for private and government purposes, until when in January 2019, it was included in thegovernment'sUDAN Scheme, and began to handle commercial operations and flights for the first time, toDehradun,Ghaziabad andPantnagar, operated with 9 seater aircraft by the regional carrier, Heritage Aviation.[6] However, due to multiple technical issues that persisted and occurred several times since February 2019, flight operations did not continue adequately after November 2019, and were indefinitely suspended in February 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] In August 2022, regular helicopter services from the airport to Dehradun and Pantnagar were started byPawan Hans.[9]
In February 2023, theUnion Cabinet approved theIndian Air Force's move to take over the airport operations. This was also approved by theGovernment of Uttarakhand. Post transfer, both military and commercial flights will be operated from the airstrip.[10][11]
After a gap of about four years, on 30 January 2024, flight operations were resumed byFlyBig to Dehradun from the airport, using a 19-seaterViking DHC-6-400 Twin Otter aircraft. The airline will later restart the flights to Ghaziabad and Pantnagar.[12][13]
As of October 2024, it was reported that the IAF andMoD were in an advanced stage of talks with the State Government to take over or operate from 3 civilian airports, including theGauchar,Pithoragarh Airport andDharasu Airports. The IAF has plans to establish an airstrip in theSpiti region as well. All the airstrips are capable and have been demonstrated to handle operations of theC-130Jspecial operations aircraft.[14]
The airport has a 1,600 m (5,200 ft)-long and 30 m (98 ft)-wide runway, oriented 14/32, which has taken its present length after extending it two times from 1,097 m (3,599 ft) and 1,508 m (4,948 ft), and is capable of handlingATR 72 type aircraft, anapron for parking of two ATR-72 type aircraft, a passenger terminal covering an area of 2,440 m2 (26,300 sq ft), capable of serving up to 300,000 passengers per annum, anAir Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a fire station and a technical block. It is linked toPithoragarh through an access road. In the coming years, the airport will be expanded further, by extending the runway and building a new passenger terminal to cater to more passengers and air traffic. The state govt has also cleared a Rs 450 crore plan to expand Pithoragarh Airport. An MoU has been signed with Airport Authority of India (AAI) for Pithoragarh's airport management.[4][15][16]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Alliance Air | Delhi |
| FlyBig | Dehradun,Pantnagar |
| Heritage Aviation -HeliService | Almora,Haldwani ,Munsyari,[17][18] |
