Raja Bhoj Airport

Raja Bhoj Airport (IATA: BHO, ICAO: VABP) is the primary airport serving Bhopal, capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Named after the 10th century Paramara king Raja Bhoj, it is the second busiest airport in Madhya Pradesh after Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport in Indore.

Raja Bhoj Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAirports Authority of India
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesBhopal, Sehore, Hoshangabad, Raisen Madhya Pradesh
LocationGandhi Nagar, Bhopal
Elevation AMSL1,719 ft / 524 m
Coordinates23°17′15″N 077°20′15″E
Map
BHO
Location of airport in India
BHO
BHO (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 3,420 1,835 Bituminous tar/Asphalt
12/30 9,022 2,744 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2019 - March 2020)
Passenger movements1331332 64.3%
Aircraft movements14374 62.2%
Cargo tonnage1526 12.6%
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

It is located in the north-western side of Bhopal, 15 kilometers away from the Bhopal Junction railway station in the city centre, and 20 kilometers away from the Habibganj railway station in the south of the city. The airport is also near the intersection of National Highway 46 (which forms a ring-road around Bhopal) and State Highway 18, which connects Bhopal to Indore.

Development

Runway

In 2010, the length of the runway was increased to 2,744 metres (9,003 ft), making it possible for larger aircraft to land at Bhopal.[4] The first direct seasonal international flight from Bhopal was to Jeddah, a Hajj charter flown by Saudia on 23 October 2010 for Hajj travellers.[5]

Renewable energy

In 2013, the airport became the first airport in the state to use solar power for running its utility grid system. A 100-kilowatt solar power plant was made operational in June 2013, with plans to install a 2-megawatt solar power plant at the airport in the future.[6] The airport has night landing facilities, an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and CAT VII fire services.[7]

Cargo and Logistics hub

A new Air Cargo Hub is being planned with 17 acres land sanctioned near the airport for the same, while for now, the old terminal building is being redeveloped into a Cargo Complex to increase cargo operations from the capital airport. The temporary Air Cargo Complex will be inaugurated by October 2019.[8]

Immigration check post and International flights

In September, the DGCA started the process for granting international status to Raja Bhoj airport.[9] In November 2019, a joint central team composed of members of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Civil Aviation visited the airport to review the arrangements in starting immigration facilities, and did not find any major hurdles.[9] With this, the airport is all set to become an immigration check post,[9] which is a mandatory requirement for operating international flights.

View of the apron from the aerobridge.

Integrated terminal

The integrated terminal building worth Rs 1.35 billion was inaugurated on 28 June 2011 by the then Civil Aviation minister, Vayalar Ravi.[10] The state government had given 400 acres of land for the construction of international terminal. The terminal building is built over an area of 26,936 square metres (289,940 sq ft) and has 14 check-in counters, 4 immigration counters for departures and 6 immigration counters for arrival. It also has twenty-two customs counters, 11 for arrival and 11 for departure, and six X-ray machines for security.[7] The terminal, now, also has an eatery and a few retail stores, that were developed as part of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) scheme of master concessionaire. The terminal is connected with 2 aerobridges.[11] A third aerobridge will be constructed by mid-October 2019.[12]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air India Delhi, Mumbai, Pune (begins 28 March 2021)
FlyBig Ahmedabad
Alliance Air Bilaspur (begins 1 March 2021)
IndiGo Agra (begins 28 March 2021), Ahmedabad, Allahabad (begins 28 March 2021), Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai

References
  1. "Traffic News for the month of March 2019: Annexure-III" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2019. p. 3. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  2. "Traffic News for the month of March 2019: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2019. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. "Traffic News for the month of March 2018: Annexure-IV" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 1 May 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. "Direct Haj flight from Bhopal". Hindustan Times. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  5. "First direct flight from Bhopal to Jeddah from tomorrow". The Times of India. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. "Raja Bhoj airport all set to use solar energy". Hindustan Times. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. "New terminal of Bhopal international airport opened for public" (PDF). Airports International Indian edition. August 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. "Bhopal to get air cargo services within a month". Latest Indian news, Top Breaking headlines, Today Headlines, Top Stories at Free Press Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  9. Nov 7, TNN | Updated; 2019; Ist, 4:15. "Immigration facility at Raja Bhoj airport soon | Bhopal News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 November 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. "New terminal of Bhopal international airport opened for public". Daily News & Analysis. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  11. "Soon, MNC restaurant at Bhopal airport for quality food - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  12. 10 Jan, Ramendra Singh | TNN | Updated; 2019; Ist, 8:04. "Third aerobridge at Bhopal airport by October | Bhopal News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 18 September 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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