Hubballi Airport is a domestic airport serving the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on Gokul Road, 8 kilometres from Hubballi and from Dharwad., connected with 11 domestic destinations.
Expansion
The Government of Karnataka signed a memorandum of understanding with the Airports Authority of India in January 2013 to develop the airport. Accordingly, of land was acquired by the State Government and handed over to the AAI. The area of the airfield was increased to and the runway was extended to. A new taxiway, roofing, car parking, fire station and a new terminal building were also part of the upgradation project that would enable the operation of larger aircraft like the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320. AAI constructed a new DVOR building and NDB building in 2016 and commenced the work on extension, strengthening and widening of the runway, taxiways and the isolation bay. A new ATC tower, technical block, fire station, a new apron for parking 3 aircraft, a 12.8 km. security wall with 17 security watch towers and a sewage treatment plant were constructed. On 12 December 2017 Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the upgraded airport terminal and other ancillary facilities. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and senior Airports Authority of India officials were also present on the occasion.
Terminal
The old terminal could handle only a single ATR-72 sized aircraft. The apron could handle only 3 Code A/B sized aircraft. The old terminal was closed down and flight operations shifted to the new terminal after its inauguration. The new terminal covers an area of 3600 square meters and is centrally air-conditioned. It can handle 300 passengers at a time during peak hours, i.e., 150 arrivals & 150 departures. The airport has passenger-friendly amenities like public address system, check-in counters, fire alarm, HVAC, elevator, firefighting, CCTV, baggage scanners and car parking. It is also eco-friendly as the terminal has a sky light system for energy savings and a standing seam double insulated roofing system, etc. The apron can now handle 3 A319/A320/B737 or 5 ATR-72 sized aircraft at a time.
On 9 March 2015, a Spicejet Bombardier Dash 8, operating flight SG-1085 from Bangalore with 74 passengers and 4 crew, landed on Hubli's runway in heavy rain, veered off the runway and came to a halt on soft ground with the left main gear collapsed. There were no injuries but the aircraft received substantial damage to left hand main landing gear, propeller and engine.
