Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport is an international airport serving Guwahati, the  largest city of North-East India in Assam, India. It is the primary airport of North-East India, and the 12th busiest airport in India. It is located at Borjhar, 26 km (16 mi) from Dispur, the capital city of Assam and 28 km (18 mi) from Guwahati. It is named after Gopinath Bordoloi, a freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of Assam after India's independence. The airport is managed by Airports Authority of India and serves as an Indian Air Force base.

History


The airport has undergone numerous expansions and renovations since its establishment in 1958, to facilitate socio-economic development, growth, connectivity and tourism in the state as well as in North-East India, as a gateway to the region. It handled more than 3.7 million passengers in 2017, an increase of 36% from 2016. The airport witnessed annual traffic of over 23% in 2018–19, with a total footfall of 5.7 million passengers and 55,066 aircraft movements in the same period. In 2023, the airport operated on its highest capacity in terms of passengers and aircraft movements ever since its establishment. It handled more than 5.6 million passengers and 46,600 aircraft till 31 December 2023, with an updated figure due in April 2024, thus almost touching its peak capacity of 6 million passengers per annum.

In 2002, the first international flight operated by Air India from the airport to Bangkok, using an Airbus A310 aircraft, thus becoming the first international airport in the North-East region. However, the flight was withdrawn due to poor passenger load. In January 2019, the airport won bids for two international destinations under the government's UDAN Scheme, with destinations most anticipated being Dhaka and Bangkok–Don Mueang. In November 2021, the airport won more bids, this time for six international destinations under the UDAN Scheme – Dhaka, Bangkok–Don Mueang, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Yangon.

In February 2019, the airport was given on lease for 50 years' ownership to Adani Group, at the highest bid of ₹ 160 per passenger.

As of February 2024, international flights in the airport are operated by Drukair from Paro to Singapore, as a connecting flight, and by Thai AirAsia to Bangkok–Don Mueang.

To relieve the existing terminal from rising traffic and demand, a new terminal building is under construction since March 2018, and will be completed by July 2024.

Runway
The airport has a 3110 m-long and 60 m-wide runway, oriented 02/20, capable of handling widebody aircraft like the Boeing 787, and is equipped with CAT-III Instrument Landing System (ILS), Döppler Very High Frequency (DVOR)/Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and PAPI lights facilities to allow flight operations to take place at night and during unfavourable weather conditions, like rain and fog. The airport has two aprons–one in front of the main passenger terminal and another in front of the under-construction second passenger terminal, together capable for parking of 25 widebody and narrowbody aircraft like the Airbus A321 and Boeing 787.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 is the existing passenger terminal since 1958. It covers an area of 28685 sqm, and is divided into two parts for domestic and international travellers. It has three levels–the ground floor for arrivals, the mezzanine floor for boarding area and the third floor for departures. It has four aerobridges, and is capable for serving 20,000 passengers during peak hours and 6 million passengers annually. In front of its entrance, there is a large parking space for vehicles. To its north, there is a cargo terminal along with storage areas, and to its south, there is an Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a fire station, a fuel station and a technical block.

Facilities
The airport has many facilities to give passengers and visitors a smooth and hassle-free experience. To connect with travel services and customised packages through the airport's staff, it offers the 'Pranaam Meet and Greet Service' a specialised service that offers customised packages and an array of services to meet travellers' requirements, including professional assistance to corporate clients and support to group travellers, senior citizens and solo travellers.

Other facilities include in-line baggage handling systems, conveyor belts, booking counters, immigration and emigration counters, check-in kiosks, CCTVs, washrooms, restaurants, lounges, multiple retail stores and souvenir shops, lost and found service, free WiFi, child care facilities, cargo services, medical facilities, facilities for physically challenged passengers, duty free, porter service, foreign exchange counters and tourist information desks.

Features
The airport is an eco-friendly airport that has adopted various advanced and modern measures to ensure proper disposal of waste and ensure sustainability, such as a solid waste management system, a wastewater treatment facility, a rainwater harvesting facility, a solar power plant to the south of the terminal for generating electricity, green spaces and an underground drainage system. The upcoming Terminal 2 will also have the same features with more developed systems.

Expansion
To meet the growing demands and rising traffic in the future, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken construction of a second passenger terminal in the northern side of the airport, at a cost of inr 12320000000.

The new terminal building will be capable of handling 4,300 domestic and 200 international passengers during peak hours, and about 10 million passengers annually. It will be equipped with 64 check-in counters, 20 self-check-in kiosks, 10 escalators, six elevators, six baggage claim counters, 16 self-baggage drop counters, in-line baggage security screening systems, ten aerobridges, multiple retail stores, souvenir shops and passenger-friendly facilities and amenities.

The foundation stone for the new terminal was laid by the then Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in January 2018, and construction began in March 2018. It was scheduled to be ready by June 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused several delays in work due to lack of labour and restrictions, it got delayed, and was rescheduled to June 2022. The date was again changed to be completed by the end of 2023. As of February 2024, more than halfway of the work has been completed, and date for completion and opening has been now set to July 2024.