User:Kharbaan Ghaltaan/Sonari Airport

Sonari Airport

Jamshedpur Airport
Sonari Airport; Jamshedpur Airport
	IATA: IXW; ICAO: VEJS;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Tata Steel
Operator	Tata Steel
Serves	Jamshedpur, Tatanagar
Location	Sonari (Jharkhand)
Elevation AMSL	146 m / 478 ft
Coordinates	22°48′49″N 086°10′5″E / 22.81361°N 86.16806°E
Runways

Sonari Airport (IATA: IXW, ICAO: VEJS), also Jamshedpur Airport is a regional airport in Jamshedpur, India. The airport is owned by Tata Steel. It is located approximately 4.4 km (2.7 mi) from the city center. It is the main airport serving the city of Jamshedpur and adjoining regions. The airport was in commercial operations until 2016, when public flights from the airport was ceased and only charter planes used to operate.

After efforts taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Jharkhand and Tata Steel, The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted licence to the airport for public use on 25 January 2023. It reopened for commercial operations between Kolkata and Bhubaneswar from 31 January 2023. Sonari Airport is the third operational airport in the state after Birsa Munda Airport of Ranchi and Deoghar Airport. The state government has future plans to develop the airport further, while plans are also to construct a new airport on the city's outskirts.

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The airport was opened in 1940 by the Tata Group and gave the ownership to its subsidiary, Tata Steel. In past years, the airport was served by airlines like Kingfisher Airlines and MDLR Airlines, which discontinued services due to various reasons despite recording good traffic. While MDLR ceased operations due to internal issues, Kingfisher had to discontinue services in November 2009 after load restrictions were imposed due to the short length of the runway.

Since Kingfisher operated larger ATR-42 and ATR-72 aircraft respectively, operations became unviable. Scheduled flights were supposed to begin in 2018 under the government's UDAN Scheme, however, this did not take place. After efforts from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of Jharkhand and Tata Steel, the airport has been reopened on 31 January 2023, with flight services provided by the new low-cost regional airline, IndiaOne Air, to Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.

Future plans[edit]

As the airport is too small to handle regular commercial operations and also because of no space for expansion due to its location within the city, the airport will be replaced with a new airport at Dhalbhumgarh, which will be built at an initial investment ₹100 crores. The entire cost for construction of airport will be ₹300 crores which will be completed in two phases. It will be built on a former World War II era airfield. The construction of airport is expected to start once it receives necessary forest clearance from the Forest Department of the State Government, which is still under progress.

Facilities[edit]

Its runway is in length of 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) and spread over an area of 25 acres (100,000 m²). Direction of the runway is 08/26 and have an asphalt surface. The airport has a single terminal, which consists all necessary components of ticketing counters, baggage area, security check-ins and boarding gate.

Flying School[edit]

Alchemist Aviation is a flying institution, whose campus is located within the airport premises. It the first and only flying institute of Jharkhand, which was established in 1994.^[1] The institution has a simulator, classroom, library and a hangar.^[1] There are three Cessna 152, one Cessna 172 and one Piper Seneca in possession of the flight training school, which will be used for the training.^[1] The institution is offering seats for 50 candidates and the eligibility is intermediate in science (physics, chemistry and mathematics) along with medical examination certificate from a DGCA approved physician (chest X Ray, ECG, EEG, ENT and eye vision test) with a minimum age being 17 years.^[1]

Engineering College[edit]

Aerospace Research & Development Center is an aircraft maintenance college located in the airport area. It is approved the Indian government. The college offers an AME Course in category B 1.2 (Aeroplane Piston), which is approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation India (DGCA).^[2] It was opened in November 2017 after getting approval from the DGCA. ^[2] ARDC is under Sha-Shib Group.

Destinations[edit]

Airlines	Destinations
IndiaOne Air	Bhubaneswar, Kolkata^[3]
North East Shuttles	Charter: Kolkata^[4]^[5]

Transportation[edit]

Accidents[edit]

On 2024, a small flight of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi made an emergency landing after finding out that the plane was not working properly.