Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport


Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport or Budgam airbase is a military airbase that serves Srinagar, the summer capital of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Authority of India operates a civil enclave at the airport. Although designated an international airport in 2005, the Srinagar airport does not receive scheduled international flights as of April 2020, but has seen Hajj flights. It has an integrated terminal and one asphalt runway which is capable of handling large passenger jets like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. The airport is actually located in Budgam, which is 4 km from Srinagar.

History

Originally, the Srinagar airport was used only by the Indian Air Force. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, the airport received an airlift of Indian troops who prevented Pakistan from capturing the city of Srinagar. Although the airport was small and lacked landing aids, the airlift was still carried out successfully on 27 October. In September 1965, the Srinagar airport was subjected to an air raid amid the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, which left some aircraft damaged.
In 1979, the Airports Authority of India established a civil enclave at the airport. The terminal was modified in February 1998 to be able to handle international Hajj flights, which first started operating from Srinagar in January 2002. During the Kargil War in 1999, the airport was taken over completely by the Air Force, and civilian flights were prohibited from landing.
In March 2005, the airport was granted international status by the Indian government. In 2006 the airport was renamed Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport after the Kashmiri patron saint. An expanded terminal, able to serve both domestic and international flights, was inaugurated on 14 February 2009 by politician Sonia Gandhi. It was part of a larger expansion project that also included an increase in the number of parking stands from four to nine. The total cost of the project was, fully provided by the Indian government. On the same day, Air India Express started once weekly flights to Dubai, the first regularly scheduled international flights from Srinagar. However, due to low demand from passengers, the flights were terminated in January 2010. The authorities were planning to create a new airport terminal handling International flights as of 2019.

Infrastructure

The Srinagar airport has an integrated terminal, handling both domestic and international flights. It covers and can serve 950 passengers at a time: 500 domestic and 450 international passengers. The terminal is designed to look like the Himalayas and has a sloping roof that facilitates snow removal. Amenities include a restaurant, a handicrafts shop, ATMs, currency exchange, chocolates shop, and free WiFi. There are 4 aerobridges linked with the terminal.
There is a single asphalt runway, 13/31, with dimensions. It has been equipped to handle instrument landing system approaches since February 2011. Several food joints like KFC and Pizza Hut are also available in the airport since 2018.

Night landing

In December 2017, it was announced that the airport would handle night operations. Later in August 2018, a test flight was conducted by DGCA Team and it was passed. As of June 2020, the airport does not handle any night operations.

Airlines and destinations

Notable accidents and incidents

On 7 September 1965, amid the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, four fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force attacked the Srinagar airport. An Indian Air Force Douglas C-47 Skytrain and an Indian Airlines Douglas DC-3 were destroyed during the air raid. A Chicago Tribune article published the following day reported that one Indian aircraft and a "Caribou transport of the United Nations observers headquarters" were damaged.

Access

The airport is located about from the city of Srinagar. There is a car park with 250 spaces. The government provides a paid bus service between the airport and the Tourist Resource Centre near Lal Chowk, while the Airports Authority of India operates a free bus service between the terminal and the airport entrance gate away. The airport is also served by taxis and car rental agencies, which have their booths outside the terminal.