Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport
Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (IATA: RDP, ICAO: VEDG), a project under Bengal
Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL), is a domestic airport located at Andal
in West Bengal of India. The airport is roughly 15 km from Durgapur's City
Centre and 25 km from Asansol's City Bus Terminus in West Bengal, India.
The Airport's hinterland comprises the towns of Burdwan, Bankura, Bishnupur,
Purulia, Suri, Bolpur / Shantiniketan, Rampurhat in South Bengal and Dhanbad
& Bokaro in Jharkhand. It is part of the country's first private sector
Aerotropolis, being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL).
The Airport was officially inaugurated on 19 September 2013.
Scheduled commercial operation commenced on 18 May 2015 by Alliance Air.
Connecting this Airport to / from Kolkata on daily basis except Friday. The
service for this route suspended on 17 June 2016 due to lack of passengers.
The 5,750 square metre passenger terminal building has a capacity of 1
million passengers per annum and can be expanded in the future to a capacity
to 2.5 million per annum. It has six check-in counters with Common Use
Terminal equipment (CUTE) in the departure lounge and two baggage conveyor
belts at the arrival hall.
The terminal has branded retail and F&B outlets, ATMs, a clinic and
pharmacy, a baby-care room, Wi-Fi services, a hotel booking counter,
convenience store and spa.
The Airport's 2,800-metre runway is equipped with a CAT I instrument landing
system (ILS) and can handle narrow-body aircraft like Airbus A320 and Boeing
737. The Airport apron has four parking bays and a helipad. The Airport is
equipped with category VI firefighting and rescue capability.
Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL)/Changi Airport Group is the owner of
the Airport and the operation is handle by Airports
Authority of India (AAI).
Connectivity
Roads
The Airport is conveniently connected to Durgapur and Asansol through
National Highway 19. There are dedicated transport options available to
reach the airport and reach passengers’ desired destinations from the
Airport.
Railway
The closest railway station to the Airport is Andal Junction Railway
Station, which is around 10 km away from the Airport.
Airlines and Destinations
Air India had the honour of being the first airline to start commercial
operations from the recently opened Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, at Durgapur,
170 kms from Kolkata with a flight connecting Kolkata to Durgapur and back.
The inaugural flight was operated by Alliance Air, the wholly-owned
subsidiary of Air India, with a 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft. The flights
operate on the sector daily except on Fridays. Alliance Air has suspended
the service for this route on 17 June 2016 due to lack of passengers.
Negotiations are underway with IndiGo and GoAir for scheduled flights for
connecting Durgapur to Delhi. Regional carrier Air Costa may connect the two
south Indian cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore for four days a week with
Durgapur.
Spirit Air, which was flying between Kolkata and Patna via Durgapur, and
Pinnacle Air, which was flying from Kolkata to Cooch Behar via Durgapur and
Bagdogra, both suspended their service at this Airport following poor load
factor.
Currently, IndiGo and SpiceJet operate scheduled flight services to and from
this Airport to various major cities in India as stated below:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| IndiGo | Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad |
| SpiceJet | Chennai, Mumbai |
folder_open Airports in West Bengal