Coimbatore Airport

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Coimbatore International Airport

IATA: CJB – ICAO: VOCB
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airports Authority of India
Serves Coimbatore and adjacent districts
Elevation AMSL 1,324 ft / 404 m
Coordinates 11°01′48″N 077°02′36″E / 11.03, 77.04333
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23 8,500 2,585 Asphalt
Source: World Aero Data[1]

Coimbatore Airport (IATA: CJB, ICAO: VOCB) is an airport serving Coimbatore located in Peelamedu, which operates few international flights. It was previously known as Peelamedu or Coimbatore Civil Aerodrome. It is about 13 mi (21 km) from the city center. It is served by ten airlines and five additional airlines will be serving the airport in the next few years. By the end of 2009, there will probably be 15 airlines serving the airport.

Recently, SilkAir and SriLankan Airlines started operations to Coimbatore, linking Coimbatore with Singapore and Bandaranaike (Colombo). Currently there are four international airlines, Air Arabia, Air-India Express, SriLankan Airlines and SilkAir.

There is currently one runway that is 8,480 feet (2,580 m) in length. Previously, the runway was 7,520 ft (2,290 m) in length. The final expansion will expand the runway to 12,500 ft (3,800 m) in length, to handle wide-body aircraft.

Contents

[edit] History

Coimbatore airport started life in 1940's as a civil aerodrome, with Indian Airlines operating Fokker F27, Douglas DC-3 and Hawker Siddeley's Avro 748. In its early days, services were mainly to Chennai and Mumbai. Later Cochin and Bangalore were added. In early 80's the airport was closed down for runway expansion, to accommodate the modern days jets like the Boeing 737 and Airbus. Temporarily airlines were using the nearby Sulur Airbase. In 1987, after completion of the runway expansion and a new terminal, the airport resumed services. In 1995, Indian Airlines started international services to Sharjah. In 2007 operations were started to destinations like Colombo and Singapore.

A July 1950 Air India International Time Table showing air timings for Coimbatore - Madras flight
A July 1950 Air India International Time Table showing air timings for Coimbatore - Madras flight

[edit] Hangars

There are two hangars of which one houses the planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, while others are for private carriers.

[edit] Terminals

There's currently one terminal and one under construction.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] Domestic

Domestic Route map of Coimbatore
Domestic Route map of Coimbatore
Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.
Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.

[edit] International

[edit] Proposed Expansion

  • Construction of a parallel taxiway to minimize the runway occupancy time and turnaround of aircraft.
  • Increasing the number of parking bays to eight from the present six.
  • Modernizing the present terminal with increased capacity, sliding doors, aerobridges with the visual docking guidance system, escalators, elevators and modern systems for baggage-handling.
Coimbatore Airport Indian Airlines.
Coimbatore Airport Indian Airlines.

[edit] See Also

Nearest airport

Tiruchirapalli Airport[Trichy]- 224 KM from Coimbatore.

Madurai Airport- 225 KM from Coimbatore

[edit] External links

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