Gaya International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesGaya
LocationGaya, Bihar, India
Opened2002 (2002)
Elevation AMSL116 m / 380 ft
Coordinates24°44′40″N 084°57′04″E / 24.74444°N 84.95111°E / 24.74444; 84.95111
WebsiteGaya Airport
Map
GAY is located in Bihar
GAY
GAY
GAY is located in India
GAY
GAY
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,286 7,500 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 - March 2023)
Passengers229,460 (Increase 20.6%)
Aircraft movements2,233 (Increase 27.9%)
Cargo tonnage—
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Gaya International Airport (IATA: GAY, ICAO: VEGY) is an international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. It is located 12 km (7.5 mi) south-west of Gaya and 5 km (3.1 mi) from Bodh Gaya, from where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment.

Overview

Apron area of the airport

The airport is spread over an area of 954 acres. The airport terminal building, spread over 7,500 square meters can handle 250 departure and 250 arrival passengers, two aerobridges and an apron capable for handling five Airbus A320 type aircraft. It is mainly seasonal and primarily caters to Buddhist tourists coming from South-East Asian countries from Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar at present.[4]

A January 2021 report by the Parliament of India described the IATA code as "inappropriate, unsuitable, offensive and embarrassing" for Gaya due to the city's religious significance. In its report, the Committee on Public Undertakings recommended changing the airport code from "GAY" to "YAG", asking the government to "make all efforts" to change the code. As of February 2022, IATA has rejected a code change, stating that airport codes are permanent unless a strong justification relating to air safety is given.[5] LGBT groups in India have criticized the parliamentary committee's request as reflective of homophobia.[6]

Expansion

An additional 100 acres of land is under process for acquiring, while another 100 acres of land from four villages is to be acquired for runway expansion. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to develop the airport as a standby to Kolkata Airport.[7] The then Minister of State for Civil Aviation, K.C. Venugopal, informed the Rajya Sabha on 2018 that AAI has requested the Government of Bihar for a further acquisition of around 200 acres to allow the airport to be expanded. The airport is to be expanded and upgraded with the construction of a new passenger terminal building which would replace the current terminal structure. Other expansion works include expanding runaway 10/28, and installation of CAT-I ILS approach system. In the future, a cargo terminal has also been planned to be built.[8]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Bhutan Airlines Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro[9]
Drukair Seasonal: Paro[10]
IndiGo Delhi,[11] Kolkata[12]
Myanmar Airways International Seasonal: Yangon[13]
Myanmar National Airlines Seasonal: Yangon
Thai AirAsia Seasonal: Bangkok–Don Mueang
Thai Airways International Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi
Thai VietJet Air Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at GAY airport. See Wikidata query.

Passenger, and Aircraft Movement at Gaya Airport (2011-2022)

YearPassengersChangeAircraft MovementChangeRef
2021–22 47,311 Decrease 32.1% 625 Decrease 20.7% [14]
2020–21 69,655 Decrease 70.7% 788 Decrease 78.1% [15]
2019–20 237,452 Increase 16.1% 3,606 Increase 96.1% [16]
2018–19 213,635 Increase 14.4% 2,649 Increase 8.6% [17]
2017–18 186,670 Increase 5.1% 2,439 Increase 11.2% [18]
2016–17 177,663 Increase 13.1% 2,193 Increase 4.8% [19]
2015–16 157,144 Increase 22.0% 2,093 Increase 28.0% [20]
2014–15 128,829 Increase 24.6% 1,635 Increase 13.8% [21]
2013–14 102,212 Decrease 16.5% 1,437 Decrease 5.6% [22]
2012–13 121,091 Increase 23.2% 1,524 Increase 23.9% [23]
2011–12 98,273 Increase 94.0% 1,230 Increase 108.5% [24]

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ↑ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Buddhist Tourists". Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "'GAY' code for Gaya airport inappropriate; make all efforts to change it: Parliamentary panel tells govt". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  6. ↑ Farrukh, Rimal (7 February 2022). "Lawmakers Say This Holy City's Airport Code Is Too GAY". Vice. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Airport land issue: Patna's loss, Gaya's gain". The Times of India. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Gaya Airport - Status, Master Plan & Design". The Metro Rail Guy. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Bhutan Airlines Winter Flight Schedule". 24 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Drukair to resume Paro-Gaya service from Dec-2022". CAPA. 26 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "IndiGo to commence Delhi-Gaya service in Oct-2020". CAPA. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Indigo to operate 22 new domestic flights from 28 March". www.livemint.com. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "Myanmar Airways International to commence Yangon-Gaya service". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2021-2022". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2020-2021". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2019-2020". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  17. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2018-2019". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2017-2018". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2016-2017". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2015-2016". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  21. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2014-2015". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2013-2014". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  23. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2012-2013". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "AAI Traffic News 2011-2012". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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