As a thriving tourist destination, Gujarat is popular and well liked among both domestic as well as international tourist and therefore a number of airports in the state make connectivity easier. Gujarat has ten airports in all out of which one is the international airport and is situated at Ahmedabad. The international airport is the gateway for the arrival and departure of foreign tourists to and from the State. Apart from that, all the other airports in Gujarat are linked to all the major cities in India, for e.g. Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata etc. For the ease and the convenience of the visitors, quite a few national as well as international flights functions from this airport.

Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport (Ahmedabad)

The only international airport of Gujarat is the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport situated in Ahmedabad from where quite a few domestic as well as international flights operate.

Having about 250 aircraft travels on an average in a day, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Airport (IATA: AMD, ICAO: VAAH) stands 7th in the category of busiest airports and offers its services to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar which are two metropolitan cities in the state of Gujarat. The distance between the airport and the Ahmedabad Railways Station is 8 Kms (5.0 Mi). Christened after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the legendary political leader who was the former Deputy Prime Minister of India, the airport covers a total area of 1,124 acres/4.55 Km2 with its runway covering a distance of 11,811 Ft./3,600 Mtr.

This airport is the focal point for numerous airlines in India including Jet Airways, Blue Dart Aviation, Air India, Spice Jet, and Indigo.

Terminals

Terminal 1 - Domestic

There are 30 check-in counters in the departure segment of this terminal. As much as 45000 m2/48,000 Sq ft being its area, the building of terminal one consists of two floors with the arrival as well as the departure areas divided vertically, having an up to date, easy, direct flow arrangement. There are three boarding gates on the ground floor and four aerobridges on the first floor. On level 1 (Ground floor) are positioned the facilities for check-in as well as baggage reclaim. The terminal has been planned in a manner so as to ensure easy function and least maintenance. Restaurants, bookshops, a VIP Lounge and retail stores, all are to be found in the terminal. There are ground transport desks, 3 luggage belts, bureau de change, snack counter, as well as a Lounge for VIP’s in the arrivals section. Terminal 1 has more or less 250 spaces for parking cars whereas supplementary car parking areas are at present undergoing construction. The building of terminal one has been planned in such a manner that it can contain 1400 travelers. The design of the terminal building being one of the finest of the industry provides round the clock operations whatever be the prevailing condition of weather at any given point of time. In order to make available internet access to the passengers, in recent times, Wi-Fi has been set up in the building.

Terminal 2 - International

On 4th July 2010 was inaugurated the new building of airport at a cost of Rs. 316 crore encouraged by Changi Airport of Singapore. It was made operational for passengers on 15 September, 2010. Interestingly, the airport’s pattern and plan was obtained through a competition held for the purpose. The building of the terminal two is created and conjured of as a unique and distinguishing roof, taking cue from the familiar and identifiable designs of Kites allied to a world famous festival celebrated in the city. The uniqueness of thing is in the cutouts shaped like kites forming skylights whereas the immediate surface area being a membrane having the finish of a ceiling from beneath and that of roofing from above. The arrival as well as the departure sections is there in the new terminal.

There are 32 check-in counters and 4 aerobridges for various airlines in the terminal-2. At any given point of time, this terminal, with approximately 41000 Sq. Meters of floor area in total, will be capable of accommodating more or less 1600 passengers. The new apron area of about 51,975 sq m can provide parking of as many as four ATR-72 and nine A-321 aircrafts. In fact, Ahmedabad is the only airport in the entire western Indian to be outfitted with travelators. This 11 meters wide and 410 meters long travelator with the total cost of Rs 80 crore has been placed in a tunnel that is air conditioned. The terminal has a space adequate for the parking of 900 cars, which is twice the parking capacity of the sum of both international terminal and the old domestic terminal. Automatic Electronic gates with stipulation of computerized ticketing will handle the car parking.

The project accounting two-phase has the total cost of Rs 290.92 crores with the cost of Phase I being Rs 195.92 crores and that of Phase II being Rs 95.00 crores. The work of the 1st phase for the building of the terminal which measures 225 x 88 meters was taken up by the Italian Thai Development (ITD) - Pratibha Consortium, Mumbai. On the other hand, Khurana Engineering limited which is looking into the 2nd phase for the extension work of the terminal building with size of 45 x 88 meters.

The building is designed in accordance with the International Air Transport Association norms. International Air Transport Association specifies norms for various facilities and intelligent management systems for buildings.

Cargo Terminal

All cargo and shipment operations are handled by the Cargo Terminal. Out of entire cargo shipment operations handled at the Ahmedabad Airport, as much as 56 % is outside India. Once the new international terminal starts operating, plans are to utilize and make use of the present international terminal as a supplementary space for managing cargo operations.

Airlines and Destinations

Passenger Airlines

Cargo Operators

Ground Transport

The Airport of Ahmedabad is positioned at a distance of 8kms from the Central Bus Stand and the city Railway Station. The airport premises itself harbors a prepaid taxi stand for the ease of travelers. 15 Kms south-west from the airport is the city-centre. That apart, the Municipal Transport Service of Ahmedabad termed as AMTS also operates a bus service locally, especially for the airport. Government also has plans for the extension of Ahmedabad BRTS bus routes to cover the airport. Also being thought out is a direct route for metro rail that will connect the city-centre with the airport.

Domestic Airports of Gujarat

• Bhavnagar Airport: Bhavnagar Airport is situated at a distance of 9 km from the city of Bhavnagar.
• Bhuj Airport: It is situated in the city of Bhuj, Gujarat.
• Jamnagar Airport: It is situated at a distance of 10 km from the City of Jamnagar.
• Kandla Airport (Gandhidham): It is situated at Kandla, near Gandhidham, which comes under the Kutch district of Gujarat.
• Keshod Airport (Junagadh): Keshod Airport is situated at a distance of 3 km from the Keshod city of Junagadh District.
• Porbandar Airport: It is situated at a distance of 5 km from the city of Porbandar.
• Rajkot Airport: It is situated at a distance of 4 km from the city of Rajkot.
• Surat Airport: This domestic airport of Gujarat has been recently inaugurated in Surat. It is situated at Magdalla Road of the city.
• Vadodara Airport: Another domestic airport is situated at the Vadodra city in Gujarat.