Raja Sansi International Airport
Encyclopedia
Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport ' onMouseout='HidePop("57190")' href="/topics/International_airport">international airport
about 11 km northwest of Amritsar
, India
. It is located on the Amritsar-Ajnala Road, near the village of Raja Sansi. Named after Sri Guru Ram Das
Ji, the fourth Sikh Guru and the founder of Amritsar city, the airport serves Amritsar
, as well as the state of Punjab
.
The airport currently handles about 100 commercial flights a week, both international and domestic and is fast growing.
A new integrated terminal building was inaugurated on 25 February 2009, with an area of approximately 40,175 square metres compared to 12,770 previously. The new terminal building is a glass and steel structure equipped with having a central air conditioning system, an inline X-ray baggage inspection system integrated with the baggage conveyor system, escalators, public address system, Flight Information Display System (FIDS), CCTV for surveillance, check-in counters with Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), car parking, etc.
The integrated terminal building at Amritsar have peak hour passenger handling capacity of 1200 passengers and annual handling capacity of 14.6 hundred thousand passengers. The integrated building has 30 check-in counters, four X-ray scanners (for baggage), 26 immigration Counters, ten custom counters, 12 security check booths, and four conveyor belt – arrival. The apron has been extended to cater for parking of total of 14 aircraft (8 Category ‘E’, 3 Category ‘D’ and 3 Category ‘C’ type of aircraft) from the earlier capacity of ten aircraft and strengthened for parking of Category ‘E’ type of aircraft. The departure and arrival hall have facility for duty free shops. The departure hall also accommodates foreign currency exchange, book store, restaurant and other shops for the convenience of departing passengers.:. Airport will also have:
The Airport Authority of India has shortlisted five bidders from the initial list of 23 bidders for the modernization of the Amritsar airport. These include:
The development and modernization plans are only for the city-side of these non-metro airports and are expected to be completed by 2010, through public-private partnership (PPP). AAI will take care of the airside development of the airports.
The government wants the consortium of the selected bidder and the AAI to commercially operate the airports and maintain their terminal buildings. It would also be responsible to develop and operate cargo facilities at these airports, besides undertaking the city-side development.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already placed orders for equipments required for ILS-II, which will be imported from Germany-based flight safety equipment firm Thalef. The equipment is expected to arrive within two months following which the commissioning process will take place.
The airport modernization process is part of the upgrade process of 35 non-metro airports in the country by 2010.
has also unveiled plans to provide a regular bus service for its ATQ passengers to and from Jalandhar
. The state government has also unveiled plans to build a monorail
line to connect the airport with the Sri Harmandir Sahib
(Golden Temple) and the Railway Station in Amritsar.
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
about 11 km northwest of Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is located on the Amritsar-Ajnala Road, near the village of Raja Sansi. Named after Sri Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das
Guru Ram Das was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574.-Early life:Ram Das was born in Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534[1] to a Sodhi family of the Khatri clan. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi. His wife was Bibi Bhani,...
Ji, the fourth Sikh Guru and the founder of Amritsar city, the airport serves Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, as well as the state of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
.
The airport currently handles about 100 commercial flights a week, both international and domestic and is fast growing.
Expansion and renovation
International airport has increased in recent years. A newly finished arrivals terminal was inaugurated in September 2005, and a finished departures terminal has been operational since March 2006. Amritsar Airport registered a passenger growth of 64.6% during April–December 2009 which made Amritsar Airport number one in country for fastest growth. This new terminal is a blend of modern and Indian designs, constructed of glass and steel, but with Indian arches and colours.A new integrated terminal building was inaugurated on 25 February 2009, with an area of approximately 40,175 square metres compared to 12,770 previously. The new terminal building is a glass and steel structure equipped with having a central air conditioning system, an inline X-ray baggage inspection system integrated with the baggage conveyor system, escalators, public address system, Flight Information Display System (FIDS), CCTV for surveillance, check-in counters with Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE), car parking, etc.
The integrated terminal building at Amritsar have peak hour passenger handling capacity of 1200 passengers and annual handling capacity of 14.6 hundred thousand passengers. The integrated building has 30 check-in counters, four X-ray scanners (for baggage), 26 immigration Counters, ten custom counters, 12 security check booths, and four conveyor belt – arrival. The apron has been extended to cater for parking of total of 14 aircraft (8 Category ‘E’, 3 Category ‘D’ and 3 Category ‘C’ type of aircraft) from the earlier capacity of ten aircraft and strengthened for parking of Category ‘E’ type of aircraft. The departure and arrival hall have facility for duty free shops. The departure hall also accommodates foreign currency exchange, book store, restaurant and other shops for the convenience of departing passengers.:. Airport will also have:
- A brand new cargoCargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
handling facility due to demands from exporters in PunjabPunjab (India)Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, HaryanaHaryanaHaryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and Himachal PradeshHimachal PradeshHimachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, who have no alternative apart from DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
which is far too far away - The proposed site for the Permanent Perishable CargoCargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
Centre is located close to the air cargo complex, which has a capacity of 200 tonnes per day - Passenger terminal building size now doubled to 41,000 m².
- Four new aerobridges to be installed out of which two are operational.
- Parking bays now increased from 5 to 14 by 2009.
- The runway extended by 369 meters to a total length of 3,658 meters.
- A new car park for passengers and visitors
The Airport Authority of India has shortlisted five bidders from the initial list of 23 bidders for the modernization of the Amritsar airport. These include:
- Reliance EnergyReliance EnergyReliance Infrastructure, formerly known as Reliance Energy and prior to that as Bombay Suburban Electric Supply , Its India's largest private sector enterprise in power utility and its a company under the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group banner, one of India's largest conglomerates. The...
- Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
- TADL-Changi Airports-Tata Power
- Lanco Infratech Ltd - Genting (Singapore) Pte Ltd
- L&T-IDPL-Unique Consortium
The development and modernization plans are only for the city-side of these non-metro airports and are expected to be completed by 2010, through public-private partnership (PPP). AAI will take care of the airside development of the airports.
The government wants the consortium of the selected bidder and the AAI to commercially operate the airports and maintain their terminal buildings. It would also be responsible to develop and operate cargo facilities at these airports, besides undertaking the city-side development.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already placed orders for equipments required for ILS-II, which will be imported from Germany-based flight safety equipment firm Thalef. The equipment is expected to arrive within two months following which the commissioning process will take place.
The airport modernization process is part of the upgrade process of 35 non-metro airports in the country by 2010.
Airlines and destinations
Ground transport
The airport is well connected to the roads and main highways of Punjab. While private transport in the form of automobiles is the most popular way of reaching the airport, public transport infrastructure (with the exception of taxis) has remained weak. However this is set to change with the Punjab State Government's unveiling of plans to launch regular bus services between the airport and other cities of Punjab. Air IndiaAir India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
has also unveiled plans to provide a regular bus service for its ATQ passengers to and from Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
. The state government has also unveiled plans to build a monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
line to connect the airport with the Sri Harmandir Sahib
Harmandir Sahib
The Harmandir Sahib also Darbar Sahib , also referred to as the Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh gurdwara located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab . Construction of the gurdwara was begun by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, and completed by his successor, Guru Arjan Dev...
(Golden Temple) and the Railway Station in Amritsar.