Coimbatore International Airport

Coimbatore International Airport is an international airport and the primary airport serving the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighborhood of Peelamedu, about 10 km from the center of the city. It is the second busiest airport in Tamil Nadu by passengers handled after Chennai International Airport. The airport is served by three Indian and two international carriers providing direct connectivity to nine domestic and two international destinations.

History
The airport was established in 1940. In 1948, Air India operated scheduled services on the Madras-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Cochin-Thiruvananthapuram route six times a week. Coimbatore flying club and aviation training academy was established in 1960. The airport then known as Pilamedu aerodrome underwent development and extension in the 1960s. In 1987, the airport underwent modernization and further expansion of the existing runway to enable handling of larger jet aircraft. In 1990, the airport was developed to enable night landing.

On 6 June 2012, Prime Minister of India declared the government's intention to upgrade the airport to international status and the Union Cabinet granted it the status of international airport on 2 October 2012.

Infrastructure
The airport has one runway, which was extended to 2990 m from 2590 m in 2008 to accommodate larger aircraft. In 2008, the airport was expanded at a cost of inr 780000000 with nine parking bays, aero bridges and Instrument Landing System (ILS). In 2010, new domestic and international divisions were added to the already existing common terminal. There are two hangars in the airport; one provides housing for the planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, the other provides shelter for private carriers. The airport has a parking management system with a capacity to accommodate nearly 300 cars.

In 2019, Airports Authority of India (AAI) proposed to construct a new domestic departure terminal building on the eastern side of the airport and a new integrated Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower and administrative building. The new terminal would be constructed in an area of 11870 sqft with the total estimated cost of around inr 1717900000. The project also involves the addition of three aero bridges and additional parking lot to accommodate 100 cars. The construction of the new terminal building will increase the handling capacity to three million passengers per annum. Multiple tenders for the construction of the new terminal building and associated works have been released by AAI since 2020.

Connectivity
The airport is located on Avinashi Road about 10 km from the city center. Bus services into the city are available from the bus stop located on Avinashi Road, around 1 km from the airport. Frequent intercity bus services are available from Gandhipuram central bus station and also from other auxiliary bus stations at Singanallur and Ukkadam. The airport is 11 km from the major railway station, Coimbatore Junction and the nearest rail stations are at Peelamedu and Singanallur. Proposed Coimbatore Metro will connect the airport to the city. Cab services, call taxis and auto rickshaws provide 24 hours commuting services to the airport.

Incidents

 * On 13 December 1950, a Douglas DC-3 (registered VT-CFK) of Air India carrying 17 passengers and four crew from Bombay to Coimbatore, crashed into high ground near Kotagiri due to a navigational error, killing all the passengers on board.