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Gaya Airport

This article is about the airport in India. For the airport in Niger, see Gaya Airport (Niger).

Gaya International Airport (IATA: GAY, ICAO: VEGY) is an international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. It is located 12 km (7.5 mi) south-west of Gaya and 5 km (3.1 mi) from Bodh Gaya, from where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment.

Gaya International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesGaya
LocationGaya, Bihar, India
Opened2002; 22 years ago (2002)
Elevation AMSL116 m / 380 ft
Coordinates24°44′40″N 084°57′04″E / 24.74444°N 84.95111°E / 24.74444; 84.95111
WebsiteGaya Airport
Map
GAY is located in Bihar
GAY
GAY
GAY is located in India
GAY
GAY
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,286 7,500 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 - March 2024)
Passengers320,295 (Increase 39.6%)
Aircraft movements2,539 (Increase 13.7%)
Cargo tonnage—
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Overview

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Apron area of the airport

The airport is spread over an area of 954 acres. The airport terminal building, spread over 7,500 square meters can handle 250 departure and 250 arrival passengers, two aerobridges and an apron capable for handling five Airbus A320 type aircraft. It is mainly seasonal and primarily caters to Buddhist tourists coming from South-East Asian countries from Thailand, Bhutan and Myanmar at present.[4]

A January 2021 report by the Parliament of India described the IATA code as "inappropriate, unsuitable, offensive and embarrassing" for Gaya due to the city's religious significance. In its report, the Committee on Public Undertakings recommended changing the airport code from "GAY" to "YAG", asking the government to "make all efforts" to change the code. As of February 2022, IATA has rejected a code change, stating that airport codes are permanent unless a strong justification relating to air safety is given.[5] LGBT groups in India have criticized the parliamentary committee's request as reflective of homophobia.[6]

Expansion

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An additional 100 acres of land is under process for acquiring, 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 Kolkata Airport.[7] The then Minister of State for Civil Aviation, K.C. Venugopal, informed the Rajya Sabha on 2018 that AAI has requested the Government of Bihar for a further acquisition of around 200 acres to allow the airport to be expanded. The airport is to be expanded and upgraded with the construction of a new passenger terminal building which would replace the current terminal structure. Other expansion works include expanding runaway 10/28, and installation of CAT-I ILS approach system. In the future, a cargo terminal has also been planned to be built.[8]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Bhutan Airlines Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro[9]
Drukair Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Paro[10]
IndiGo Delhi,[11] Kolkata[12]
Myanmar Airways International Seasonal: Yangon[13]
Myanmar National Airlines Seasonal: Yangon
Thai AirAsia Seasonal: Bangkok–Don Mueang
Thai Airways International Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi
Thai VietJet Air Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at GAY airport. See Wikidata query.

Passenger and aircraft movements at Gaya Airport (2011-2022)

Year Passengers Change Aircraft movements Change Ref
2021–22 47,311   32.1% 625   20.7% [14]
2020–21 69,655   70.7% 788   78.1% [15]
2019–20 237,452   16.1% 3,606   96.1% [16]
2018–19 213,635   14.4% 2,649   8.6% [17]
2017–18 186,670   5.1% 2,439   11.2% [18]
2016–17 177,663   13.1% 2,193   4.8% [19]
2015–16 157,144   22.0% 2,093   28.0% [20]
2014–15 128,829   24.6% 1,635   13.8% [21]
2013–14 102,212   16.5% 1,437   5.6% [22]
2012–13 121,091   23.2% 1,524   23.9% [23]
2011–12 98,273   94.0% 1,230   108.5% [24]

See also

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References

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Buddhist Tourists". Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
  5. ^ "'GAY' code for Gaya airport inappropriate; make all efforts to change it: Parliamentary panel tells govt". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  6. ^ Farrukh, Rimal (7 February 2022). "Lawmakers Say This Holy City's Airport Code Is Too GAY". Vice. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Airport land issue: Patna's loss, Gaya's gain". The Times of India. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Gaya Airport - Status, Master Plan & Design". The Metro Rail Guy. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Bhutan Airlines Winter Flight Schedule". 24 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Drukair to resume Paro-Gaya service from Dec-2022". CAPA. 26 October 2022.
  11. ^ "IndiGo to commence Delhi-Gaya service in Oct-2020". CAPA. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Indigo to operate 22 new domestic flights from 28 March". www.livemint.com. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Myanmar Airways International to commence Yangon-Gaya service". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2021-2022". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2020-2021". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  16. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2019-2020". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  17. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2018-2019". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2017-2018". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  19. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2016-2017". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2015-2016". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  21. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2014-2015". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  22. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2013-2014". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  23. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2012-2013". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  24. ^ "AAI Traffic News 2011-2012". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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