Gujarat: Operations Commence At Greenfield Rajkot International Airport, Old Airport Officially Closed

Gujarat's greenfield Rajkot International Airport officially began its flight operations on 10 September in Hirasar.

The airport is newly built and situated on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway, approximately 30 km away from Rajkot City and the previous Rajkot Airport.

The greenfield airport, covering a vast land area of over 2,500 acres, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 July 2023.

The project cost was around Rs 1,400 crore and involved the construction of a runway, apron, and parallel taxi track, among other facilities.

To ensure passenger convenience, the state government will provide daily bus services from the ST bus stop to Rajkot International Airport, starting at 6 am and running every two hours, as per the Financial Express report.

Following the commencement of operations at the new greenfield airport, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has officially closed down the existing Rajkot Airport. The AAI had previously announced that the old airport would cease operations once the new airport became functional.

The Rajkot International Airport has been designed to serve as a central transportation hub for individuals travelling abroad from the state. The terminal building, covering a total area of 23,000 sqm (excluding basement), is capable of accommodating up to 1,800 passengers during peak hours.

This new airport seamlessly combines modern technology with sustainable features. The new terminal building incorporates various environmentally friendly elements, including a double insulated roofing system, skylights, LED lighting, and low heat gain glazing.

Furthermore, the terminal building is compliant with GRIHA -4 standards, which assess the green rating for integrated habitat development.

Need For New Airport

Rajkot city is the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and the fourth largest city in the state.

The previous airport was in the heart of the city and was suffering from considerable capacity restraints due to residential and commercial buildings which have been built around it. The airstrip was incapable of serving aircraft larger than the Airbus 320 family/Boeing 737-800.

Rajkot Urban Development Authority and Rajkot Municipal Corporation had proposed a plan to extend the existing airport runway to accommodate larger aircraft so as to provide better connectivity to major cities, besides Mumbai, and to cater to a large demand from the manufacturing companies located in Rajkot.

However, the plan could not materialise due to land acquisition issues, which, necessitated the construction of an altogether new greenfield airport for the city of Rajkot.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation granted ‘in principle’ approval to the Gujarat government for setting up the greenfield airport at Hirasar in Rajkot district in October 2017. The project is being developed under BO (build and operate) by the Airports Authority of India.