Gaya Airport (Bodhgaya Airport) @ Charowa, Gaya District, Bihar (IN)

View of Gaya Airport @ Gaya District, Bihar.
[Photos: Alok Kumar @ Apr 2019]

SHORT INFORMATION

IATA: GAY
ICAO: VEGY
Airport Type: Public
Operator: Airports Authority of India
Serves: Gaya
Location: Charowa
District: Gaya
State: Bihar
Country: India
Elevation AMSL: 116 m / 380 ft
Co-ordinates: 24°44′40″N 084°57′04″E
Google Maps Location: tinyurl.com/GayaAirport
Address: Gaya - Sherghati Road, Charowa, Gaya, Bihar 823004

RUNWAYS

Direction: 10/28
Length: 2,286 (meter), 7,500 (feet)
Surface: Asphalt

Gaya Airport, Satellite View

Gaya Airport, also known as Bodhgaya Airport, (IATA: GAY, ICAO: VEGY) is an international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. This airport is 12 kilometres south-west of Gaya and 5 kilometres away from the temple city of Bodhgaya which is Gautama Buddha's place of enlightenment. The airport operates permanent pilgrimage flights from Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Japan and all over the world as being the gateway to the most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site in the world.

Expansion

An additional 100 acres of land is under encroachment 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 the Kolkata Airport. Minister of State for Civil Aviation K C Venugopal had informed the Rajya Sabha on 28 August 2013 that Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requested the government of Bihar for a further acquisition of around 200 acres to allow the airport to be expanded.

Overview

Gaya airport is spread over an area of 954 acres. An additional 100 acres of land is under encroachment while another 100 acres of land from four villages is to be acquired for runway expansion. The airport terminal building, spread over 7,500 square meters can handle 250 incoming and 250 outgoing passengers. This airport is mainly seasonal and primarily caters to Buddhist tourists coming from South East Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, etc.

Airlines and Destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi Seasonal: Yangon
Bhutan Airlines	Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro
Druk Air	Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro
IndiGo	Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi
Myanmar Airways International	Seasonal: Mandalay, Yangon
Myanmar National Airlines	Seasonal: Yangon
Thai AirAsia	Seasonal: Bangkok–Don Mueang
Thai Smile	Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Varanasi