Ayodhya Airport

Ayodhya Airport, officially named as Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham, is an international airport serving the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The airport is located adjacent to NH-27 and NH-330 at Naaka in Faizabad. The Government of Uttar Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in February 2014 for the development of the airport. Construction began on the airport in February 2022, and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December 2023, with flight operations beginning from 10 January 2024.

Nomenclature
In 2021, the Government of Uttar Pradesh proposed to name of the airport after the Hindu god Rama, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana, who is believed to be born in Ayodhya. In December 2023, the name was changed after Maharishi Valmiki, the attributed author of Ramayana, to greater represent the Ramayana-based theme of the airport.

Efforts by the Ministry of Civil Aviation
In 2012, the former Minister of Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh, announced to develop three existing airstrips at Faizabad, Moradabad and Meerut to increase regional connectivity by air and to improve connectivity, socio-economic development and tourism in the state. Singh said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation had asked the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, to provide the Ministry with land to set up nine airports across Uttar Pradesh, and said that having more airports would generate employment and economic growth in the state.

Development under low-cost airports
In an endeavour to provide air connectivity to different parts of India, development of low-cost airports is the most important component. Instructions have been issued to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to identify the most suitable low-cost model for development of smaller airports, and to develop airports in smaller cities based on this mode, as part of the government's UDAN Scheme.

Handing over to Airports Authority of India
In 2008, the Government of Uttar Pradesh had issued formal orders allowing the landing and parking of private aircraft on the former Indian Air Force airstrip against a fee. According to the government order, any private aircraft can land by paying ₹ 500. There would be no parking charges for the first two hours, after which ₹ 200 would be charged per day. The government gave the airstrip to private investors for pilot training and aircraft maintenance engineering institutes. The procedure followed earlier to obtain permission for using the airstrip used to be long. The owner of the private aircraft had to contact the respective district magistrate, who would further contact the directorate, to take the measures required for landing of the aircraft.

In 2013, the government approved the transfer of the airstrip at Faizabad to the AAI to be developed as a full-fledged airport, along with three others–Meerut, Moradabad and Saifai, on the instructions of the state cabinet. The government provided extra land free of cost for further expansion and for the construction of a terminal.

In 2018, the state government under Yogi Adityanath announced the expansion of the airstrip in Faizabad. The government approved to develop it as an international airport and sanctioned ₹2 billion for acquisition of land. Land acquisition began from November 2021 and construction began on the airport in February 2022. In April 2022, the government announced that the airport would become operational before the completion of Ram Mandir in 2024. The airport was completed and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 30 December 2023, with flight operations beginning from 10 January 2024, started by IndiGo as the first commercial airline to connect Delhi and Ahmedabad as the initial destinations.

Runway
The existing airstrip's runway was 1500 m long and 30 m wide, which was capable enough for only nine-seater aircraft like the Dornier 228. In 2018, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had stated that an acquisition of around 284 acre more land could make the airport handle 200-seater Airbus A321 aircraft. In response to this, in November of the same year, the Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to acquire more than 280 acres of land around the airstrip and widen the runway to allow the landing of larger aircraft. The projected runway would be 2500 m long and 45 m wide, with a 100-150 m-wide set-off area on each side of the runway. The construction would be done in two phases, with a planned third phase. The length of the runway would be 2,250 metres in the first phase, while in the second phase, its length would be increased to 3,125 metres. In the third phase, it is planned to be extended by another 625 metres, thus taking the overall length to 3,750 metres, making the airport capable of handling large aircraft like the Airbus A380. The runway is equipped with facilities to allow night landing of aircraft, such as the Instrument Landing System (ILS), Doppler Very-high frequency Omnidirectional Range (DVOR) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) from the first phase of the runway development only.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is the first terminal of the airport as part of the first phase of the airport's development. It covers an area of 6,500 sq.m. and is able to accommodate 300 passengers during peak hours and handle around 1 million passengers annually. It has an apron suitable for parking of four Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 type aircraft. Within its premises, it has parking spaces for vehicles, an approach road from the nearby highway, a fuel farm, a fuel station, a fire station, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and other ancillary facilities. The terminal, along with the first phase of the airport, started handling flights from 10 January 2024.

Terminal 2
Terminal 2 will be the second terminal of the airport as part of the second phase of the airport's development. It will cover an area of 30,000 sq.m., which will be later expanded to 50,000 sq.m., and will be able to accommodate 3,200 passengers during peak hours and over 5-7 million passengers annually. It will have eight aerobridges and an apron suitable for parking of eight Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 type aircraft, both of which will be increased to 16 as part of the planned third phase of the airport's development. Within its premises, in front of its entrance, it will have a garden for recreation of passengers as a green space and a larger parking space than Terminal 1, along with utility facilities. As of November 2023, the terminal, along with the second phase of the airport's development, is under bidding process.

Terminal 3
Terminal 3 will be the third terminal of the airport as part of the third and final phase of the airport's development. It will cover an area of more than 50,000 sq.m. and will be able to accommodate more passengers than terminals 1 and 2. It will have an apron suitable for parking of eight widebody aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 to handle international operations. Within its premises, it will have the same garden and parking spaces like Terminal 2, but, both will cover more area as compared to Terminal 2. It will also have a new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower that will be taller and bigger than the one developed in the first phase of the airport's development, along with a bigger fire station and utility facilities.

Facilities
In the first phase of the airport's development, the terminal has passenger facilities such as 9 check-in counters, 3 conveyor belts, two lounges to serve passengers and tactile paths to the apron. Outside the terminal, there are four parking spaces for vehicles, a service and utility area, a four-lane approach road to the NH-27 that connects to Faizabad and Ayodhya, a fire station, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a technical block, a fuel farm, will have three medium-scale hotels, four upper-scale hotels among other ancillary and technical facilities. In the second and third phases of the airport's development, further facilities will be added to make the airport at par with international standards. A medical college will also be established between terminals 2 and 3, as part of the airport's master plan created by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Features
The airport has been designed to portray the local, as well as the state's culture and heritage, in order to make the visitors know about the spiritual, religious and historical influence the city of Ayodhya wields on the Indian society. The designs are etched as murals, artworks and engraved scriptures adorning in the Nagara style of temple architecture, depicting the symbolism of the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The architectural style has been adopted also to symbolise the Ram Mandir. The "bow and arrow" mural with portraits of Rama near the terminal's entrance along with other artworks are one of the prime themes in the exterior. Built with red stone, the carved pillars from the entrance to the inside of the terminal provide an excellent mixture of the old temple architecture with modern infrastructure. The roof of the terminal, measuring 65,000 sq.ft., is supported by seven big columns, symbolising the seven kandas (books) of Ramayana. Like ancient temples, the terminal has a rectangular base with carved pillars and a shikhara on its top to symbolise a temple structure. The terminal uses clean energy to generate electricity and follows sustainable measures to dispose waste, conserve water, and hence, is an eco-friendly airport.

Road
A 1.2 km-long four-lane approach road connects the airport directly with the city premises through NH-27, running towards the western side to Ayodhya.

Rail
The nearest railway station from the airport is Faizabad Junction railway station, located only 3.5 km away to the north-west in Faizabad, while Ayodhya Junction railway station is located 11 km away to the north-east in Ayodhya.

Bus
The nearest bus station from the airport is Faizabad Bus Depot, located only 5 km away to the north-west in Faizabad, while Ayodhya Dham Central Bus Station is located 16 km away to the north-east in Ayodhya.