Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport (IATA: IDR, ICAO: VAID) is an international airport serving the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and is located 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Indore. According to the statistics released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the agency responsible for the maintenance and management of the airport, it was the 18th busiest airport in India by passenger traffic in the year 2018-19. The airport is named after Ahilyabai Holkar, the Rani of the erstwhile Indore State. Since 24 March 2018, it has started operations 24*7 with night landing facilities.

Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAirports Authority of India
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesIndore
LocationIndore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Opened1948; 76 years ago (1948)
29 May 2019 (2019-05-29) (upgraded to international)
Hub forIndiGo
Elevation AMSL1,850 ft / 528 m
Coordinates22°43′18″N 75°48′03″E / 22.72167°N 75.80083°E / 22.72167; 75.80083
WebsiteIndore Airport
Maps
IDR is located in Madhya Pradesh
IDR
IDR
IDR is located in India
IDR
IDR
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
07/25 9,035 2,754 Composite
Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024)
Passengers3,464,831 (Increase 22.5%)
Aircraft movements32,011 (Increase 27.1%)
Cargo tonnage10,189 (Decrease 4.2%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

History

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The Indore State administration, after consulting Nevill Vintcent of Messrs Tata and Sons (Aviation Department), selected the Bijasan site for the construction of the airport in 1935. Air services from Indore to Gwalior, Delhi and Mumbai began in July 1948. The airport was handed over to the Government of India in April 1950 under the Central Financial Integration Scheme. A new runway measuring 5,600 feet in length was completed by March 1966 at a cost of 15 lakh to accommodate larger aircraft. Night landing facilities were also provided.[4] The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given its approval to the airport for operating international flights making it the first airport in Madhya Pradesh to do so.[5]

Structure

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DABH Airport measures 729 acres (295 ha)s and the current terminal building is spread over 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft). The main apron has space for one-B737, four-B737/A321, four-ATR72 and one-Q400 aircraft simultaneously. MPFC Flying Club is at the south end of the runway; its apron has space for four-C172 aircraft simultaneously.[6] The sole runway 07/25 is 2,750 metres long and 45 metres wide.

The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities and a CAT-1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) (on Runway 25 only) as well as navigational facilities like DVOR/DME and an NDB. The runway is being extended as a part of the expansion plan for the airport.[7]

Terminals

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Interior of The terminal

Indore's new expandable integrated terminal building was inaugurated on 14 February 2012. It was built by AAI at a cost of 135 crore (US$16 million) and is capable of handling 700 passengers per hour.[8] The new terminal has modern escalators and a high-tech baggage handling system. It caters to the movement of 96 flights every day. In preparation towards the proposed international operations, it will have 16 check-in counters, 16 immigration counters (four for departure and 12 for arrivals) and four counters for customs, apart from 569 CCTVs and X-ray machines for security.

There are five aerobridges serving the airport. The terminal has one lift and three escalator conveyor belt for baggage. As per the international standards, it has two ATMs (01 SBI and 01 Union Bank of India), shopping stalls and a food court.[9] The airport is under an expansion stage. A new terminal adjoining the current terminal, along with an airport hotel and a convention center, are planned at the airport site.

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Air IndiaDelhi, Mumbai
Air India Express[10] Bangalore[11],Delhi,Kolkata(Begins 15th December 2024),Sharjah[12]
Alliance Air Ahmedabad, Delhi, Goa–Dabolim,[13]Mumbai[14]
IndiGoAhmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh,[15] Chennai, Delhi, Goa–Dabolim, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik,[16] Pune, Raipur, Rajkot,[17] Shirdi,[18] Udaipur
Star Air Belgaum, Kishangarh
Vistara Delhi[19] (ends 11 November 2024)[20]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at IDR airport. See Wikidata query.

Future

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In view of the future and the growing traffic, due to which the airport may not be able to cope up with it, at least after the present decade, a new airport has been proposed, which is planned to become India's largest greenfield airport near Chapda town, about 40 km (25 mi) from Indore. The plan has been approved by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.[21][22]

Awards

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DABH airport was adjudged as the Best Airport in under 20 lakh (2 million) annual passenger footfall category in Asia-Pacific region in the Airports Council International (ACI)'s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey's rankings for the year 2017. The World Book of Records, UK, bestowed the Worlds Standardisation Certification to the airport for the achievement of ACI Award 2017 on 9 April 2018.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. ^ (India), Madhya Pradesh (1827). Madhya Pradesh district gazetteers, Volume 17. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  5. ^ "Aviation: Indore airport gets nod to operate international flights". Zee Business. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Airports Authority of India". Aai.aero. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  7. ^ Upadhyay, Manish (25 February 2024). "Flying High: Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Airport Achieves 20 Years Passenger Movement Capacity In 10 Yrs". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  8. ^ "New terminal of Devi Ahilya Bai airport inaugurated". Daily Bhaskar. 15 April 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  9. ^ "International flights from Indore by mid-2012". The Times of India. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Our Network". Air India Express. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Flight Schedule". Air India Express. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Air India Express to commence Indore-Sharjah service in Mar-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Alliance Air flight 9I627/LLR627—Indore (IDR/VAID) to Goa (GOI/VOGO)". Flightradar24.
  14. ^ "Alliance Air to launch Mumbai-Indore flights from Jan 16". JetArena. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  15. ^ Sharma, Anu (1 November 2022). "IndiGo commences direct flights between Indore and Chandigarh". Livemint. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  16. ^ "IndiGo to commence Indore-Nashik service in Jun-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  17. ^ Mondal, Anish (10 September 2023). "Gujarat: Rajkot International Airport starts functioning, IndiGo to operate all its services from here – Details inside". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  18. ^ "IndiGo to commence Indore-Shirdi service in Mar-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Vistara Flight Schedules". Vistara. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Vistara Air India Merger".
  21. ^ Khan, Firoz (6 March 2022). "Airport in Madhya Pradesh: मध्य प्रदेश में जल्द बन सकता है देश का सबसे बड़ा एयरपोर्ट, जानिए क्या है पूरी प्लानिंग". ABP News (in Hindi). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  22. ^ Sharma, Harinarayan (13 July 2022). "भास्कर ब्रेकिंग: चापड़ा के पास नए एयरपोर्ट को मिनिस्ट्री की हरी झंडी, पहले चरण में 10 हजार एकड़ जमीन पर काम शुरू करेगा उद्योग विभाग". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
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