Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport

Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesAgartala
LocationSingerbhil, Agartala, Tripura, India
Opened1942; 82 years ago (1942)
Elevation AMSL14 m / 47 ft
Coordinates23°53′24″N 091°14′32″E / 23.89000°N 91.24222°E / 23.89000; 91.24222
WebsiteAgartala Airport
Map
IXA is located in Tripura
IXA
IXA
Location of airport in Tripura
IXA is located in India
IXA
IXA
IXA (India)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,286 7,500 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024)
Passengers1,470,670 (Increase 6.1%)
Aircraft movements10,906 (Decrease 10.6%)
Cargo tonnage3,024 (Decrease 26.6%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport (IATA: IXA, ICAO: VEAT), also known as Agartala Airport,[4][5][6][7] is an international airport[8] situated 12 kilometres (7 miles) northwest of Agartala, the capital of Tripura. It is administered by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).[9] It is the second busiest airport in North-East India after Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport in Guwahati and 29th busiest airport in India. It is the third international airport in North-East India, after Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Airport and Imphal Airport.

The current integrated terminal of the airport has 20 check-in counters, six parking bays, four aerobridges, conveyor belts and passenger-friendly modern facilities and amenities like In-Line Baggage System (ILBS), Escalators, Lifts, etc. In addition to the new terminal building, a new parallel taxiway to the runway and two new hangars are being built. Another terminal, along with the runway, will be built as an extension of the airport across the border with Bangladesh. This new terminal will serve Bangladeshis accessing the airport without having to enter Indian territory. This arrangement is worked out as similar to the Cross Border Xpress terminal of Tijuana International Airport in Mexico, which is located along the United States–Mexico border.[10]

  1. ^ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Change of name of Agartala Airport" (PDF). EGazette. Government of India. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Agartala Airport to be named after Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore". The Hindu. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  6. ^ Deb, Debraj (30 October 2017). "Agartala airport to be named after king". Telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Agartala airport renamed Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, after Tripura's last king". cnbctv18.com. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Agartala airport set to launch international flight services after Centre's immigration clearance". CNBC. PTI. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Civil Airport Agartala". airportsindia.org.in. Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  10. ^ "India asks Bangladesh for land to expand Agartala airport runway". India TV. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2023.