Veer Savarkar International Airport


Veer Savarkar International Airport, also known as Port Blair Airport, is a customs airport located south of Port Blair and is the main airport of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Originally known as "Port Blair Airport", it was renamed in 2002 after freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who had been detained in the Cellular Jail in the city for 10 years. It operates as a civil enclave, sharing airside facilities with INS Utkrosh of the Indian Navy.

Overview

The airport has a single runway of in length, accommodating most narrow-body aircraft, that includes Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Boeing 737. Except for the civilian terminal operated by the Airports Authority of India, all other air traffic operations over Port Blair are undertaken by the Indian Navy.

Terminal

The passenger terminal has a capacity of 400 passengers. It covers an area of 6100 square metres. There is only one terminal, with two gates and no aerobridges. Buses are used to provide transportation from the terminal to the aircraft parked on the apron. A new terminal will come up at the airport and will cover an area of 40,837 square metres. The terminal capacity will be 1200 pax. In 2009, construction work commenced to expand the apron.
As of 2019 there are no international flights from this airport. International flights are expected to start from July, 2020.
A new terminal building is under construction and is scheduled for commissioning by June 2020. The AAI had initially projected a requirement of 26 acres of land for construction of the new terminal building. The local administration reduced it to almost 19 acres, 10.60 acres of which has been acquired from the Andaman & Nicobar Administration, 4.72 acres is from the Indian Navy, and the remaining 3.39 acres is yet to be acquired.

Airlines and destinations