Darbhanga Airport @ Ranipur, Darbhanga District, Bihar (IN)

View of Darbhanga Airport @ Ranipur, Darbhanga District.
[Photos: Danish Yousuf @ 23-09-2020 #Google Maps]

SHORT INFORMATION

Airport Type: Civil Enclave
Owner: Indian Air Force
Operator: Airports Authority of India
IATA: DBR
ICAO: VE89
Serves: Darbhanga
Location: Ranipur
District: Darbhanga
State: Bihar
Country: India
Co-ordinates: 26°11′41″N 085°55′03″E
Google Maps Location: tinyurl.com/DarbhangaAirport
Address: Aerodrome Darbhanga, Ranipur, Bihatwara, Bihar 846007

RUNWAYS

Direction: 10/28
Length: 2,843 (m) 9,328 (ft)
Surface: Asphalt

Darbhanga Airport, Satellite View

Darbhanga Airport is a domestic airport and civil enclave at the Air Force Station, Darbhanga and is owned by Indian Air Force. It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-105 and NH-57 East-West Corridor Expressway which passes through Darbhanga. The airport will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The foundation stone for the project was laid by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu in the presence of state Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on 24 December 2018. Commercial flights will be started from 8th November 2020 for which bookings have already started on 20 September 2020.

History

This airport was built by Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur of Darbhanga when he started his own private airline. It was funded by a private aviation company Darbhanga Aviation after Second World War. He purchased three formers military Douglas DC3 aircraft. Darbhanga Aviation was started in 1950 and became defunct in 1962. During the 1962 Indo-China War, the airport was acquired by the Indian Air Force.

UDAN Scheme

In January 2018, SpiceJet was selected to operate flights from Darbhanga to Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai, under the Government's Regional Connectivity Scheme called UDAN. The airline had earlier bid to operate seven flights per week to these cities by 189-seat jets, including 40 RCS seats with a maximum fare of Rs. 3,199/-.

A civil enclave or terminal building along with ATC (air traffic control) tower, parking apron and cargo among other facilities was planned by acquiring land close to the existing airbase to start commercial flight operations. The Bihar government initiated the land acquisition and 31 acres of the land will be provided to the Indian Air Force, Darbhanga for the further planning of the permanent terminal building at AAI, Darbhanga. The runway was strengthened to handle the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and a pre-fabricated building was to serve as a temporary terminal building. Another high-level meeting was also held on this issue in Patna. The state government allotted Rs 121 crore to acquire 31 acres at Ranipur-Bihatwara area.

Airport Authority of India started the construction of an Interim Terminal Building, the taxi track and the apron area, strengthening of runways and perform technical work from 24 December 2018 onwards. The government of India sanctioned approximately ₹100 crores for these projects. At the foundation stone laying ceremony, Jayant Sinha suggested naming the airport after famous Maithili Poet Vidyapati. The terminal has six check-in counters, a capacity to handle 200 peak hour passengers and a car park with parking facility for 30 cars.

Airlines and Destinations

Airlines: SpiceJet

Destinations: Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai (all begin 8 November 2020)

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