Darbhanga Airport

Darbhanga Airport (IATA: DBR, ICAO: VE89) is a domestic airport and civil enclave at the Air Force Station, Darbhanga and is owned by Indian Air Force.[2] It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-105 and NH-57 East-West Corridor Expressway which passes through Darbhanga. The airport is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The foundation stone for the project was laid by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu in the presence of state Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on 24 December 2018.[3] Commercial flights started on 8th November 2020.[4]

Darbhanga Airport
Summary
Airport typeCivil Enclave
OwnerIndian Air Force
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesDarbhanga
LocationDarbhanga, Bihar, India
Coordinates26°11′41″N 085°55′03″E
Map
DBR
DBR
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,843 9,328 Asphalt
Mithila painting at Darbhanga Airport

History

This airport was built by Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur of Darbhanga when he started his own private airline. It was funded by a private aviation company Darbhanga Aviation after Second World War. He purchased three former military Douglas DC3 aircraft. Darbhanga Aviation was started in 1950 and became defunct in 1962.[5] During the 1962 Indo-China War, the airport was acquired by the Indian Air Force.[6]

UDAN Scheme

In January 2018, SpiceJet was selected to operate flights from Darbhanga to Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, under the Government's Regional Connectivity Scheme called UDAN.[7][8]

Darbhanga Airport

A civil enclave or terminal building along with ATC (air traffic control) tower, parking apron and cargo among other facilities was planned by acquiring land close to the existing airbase to start commercial flight operations.[9] The Bihar government initiated the land acquisition and 31 acres of the land will be provided to the Indian Air Force, Darbhanga for the further planning of the permanent terminal building at AAI, Darbhanga. The runway was strengthened to handle the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and a pre-fabricated building was to serve as a temporary terminal building.[10] Another high-level meeting was also held on this issue in Patna.[11] The state government allotted Rs 121 crore to acquire 31 acres at Ranipur-Bihatwara area [12]

Airport Authority of India started the construction of an Interim Terminal Building, the taxi track and the apron area, strengthening of runways and perform technical work from 24 December 2018 onwards. The government of India sanctioned approximately ₹100 crores for these projects. [13] At the foundation stone laying ceremony, Jayant Sinha suggested naming the airport after famous Maithili Poet Vidyapati.[3] The terminal has six check-in counters, a capacity to handle 200 peak hour passengers and a car park with parking facility for 30 cars. [14]

Airlines and destinations


AirlinesDestinations
SpiceJet Ahmedabad,[15] Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad (begins 16 February 2021),[15] Mumbai, Pune (begins 16 February 2021)[15]

See also

References
  1. "VE89 @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018.
  2. "ATS". indianairforce.nic.in. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. "Foundation of civil enclave laid at Darbhanga airport". The Times of India. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  4. Desk, Aaj Tak News (21 September 2020). "बिहार: दरभंगा में 8 नवंबर से शुरू होगी विमान सेवा, टिकटों की बुकिंग शुरू". Aaj Tak, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  5. "Darbhanga Aviation history from India, Rest of World". Airline History. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. "First President's royal flight in '62". The Times of India. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  7. "SpiceJet to start operations on UDAN 2 routes from April-end". Financial Express. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  8. "Indigo and SpiceJet express interest in operating flights from Darbhanga". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Commercial flights from Darbhanga likely to begin from March 2020". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  13. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/flight-operations-from-darbhanga-from-mid-2019-aai-at-work/articleshow/65985198.cms
  14. "Darbhanga airport: CM Nitish Kumar lays foundation for civil enclave". Hindustan Times. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  15. "SpiceJet flight schedule". SpiceJet. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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