Trivandrum International Airport


Trivandrum International Airport is an international airport which primarily serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. Established in 1932, it is the first airport in the state of Kerala. It is the fifth international airport of India officially declared by then Prime Minister of India, V. P. Singh in 1991.
It is the second busiest airport in Kerala after Kochi and the fourteenth busiest in India. In fiscal year 2018-19, the airport handled more than 4.4 million passengers with a total of 33,093 aircraft movements. Spread over an area of, the airport is approximately due west from the city centre, from Kovalam beach, from Technopark and from the under construction Vizhinjam International Seaport.
Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic flight operations and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India.
In addition to civil operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force and the Coast Guard for their operations. IAF have an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out pilot training activities.
Trivandrum International Airport hosts Air India's Narrow body Maintenance, repair and overhaul unit — MRO consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft.

History

The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Raja Goda Varman, Consort of Rani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, Rani of Attingal and of Travancore Kingdom. Raja Goda Varman, a trained pilot, felt the need of an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India and requested the Travancore Durbar to initiate the process for establishing an aerodrome. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard. It may be mentioned that the King was the brother of Colonel Raja's wife, and the colonel's own children were the heirs to the throne.
In 1935, on royal patronage of H.H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH.83 Fox Moth aircraft under command of India's first pilot Nevill Vintcent carrying Jamshed Navoroji, a Tata company official, and Kanchi Dwarakadas, commercial agent of Travancore in Karachi, with a special mail from the Viceroy of British India, Lord Willingdon, wishing birthday greetings to the Maharaja.
The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal to Bombay. In 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharaja's private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force for protection of the state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for domestic flights with the construction of a new domestic terminal, Terminal 1.
International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707. By early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines and Air Maldives from Sharjah marked the first arrival. Air India Express operated the first departure to Dubai from this new terminal. IndianOil Skytanking is the company which introduced single man refuelling in India and started refuelling operations at Trivandrum in March 2016.

Facilities

Runway

Trivandrum International Airport has one runway, 32/14,, equipped to operate any type of aircraft in commercial service other than Airbus A380. It has a long parallel taxiway.

Terminal

There are two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic flights, and Terminal 2 is for all international flights as well as all domestic flights of Air India.
The international terminal ground operations are handled by Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. and Bhadra International India Pvt. Ltd. It is fully air-conditioned with wi-fi facility. The terminal features spacious lounges, natural lighting with extensive use of glass roofing and better conveyance facilities for passengers. It has three baggage carousels and elaborate immigration/customs facilities. Flemingo, India's first privately owned duty-free operator is managing the duty-free shop at the international terminal.
The domestic terminal has basic amenities including cafés, a beer and wine bar, a book-seller, free local calls, phone-recharging points. Into Plane Services fuelling operations handled by IndianOil Skytanking.
3 Letter code Placed at Trivandrum International Airport Terminal 2

Terminal 1

The domestic terminal has an area of and can handle 400 passengers at a time.

Terminal 2

The newly built Terminal 2 has three additional jetways and parking bays to accommodate 8 aircraft. The terminal is built opposite to the current terminal across the runway and is closer to the city side. The terminal, constructed by the AAI and designed by the UK firm, Pascall+Watson architects, is expected to provide impetus to the development of the IT sector and the tourism industry in the southern districts of Kerala.
The international terminal covers an area of. It is able to handle the passengers of three Airbus A340s and one Boeing 747 aircraft simultaneously. The annual handling capacity of the terminal will be 1.8 million.
The check-in area has a floor area of and the arrival area. To enable the passengers to check in at any counter, a Common Users Terminal Equipment is installed. X-ray machines are attached to the side of the conveyor belts for faster clearance of baggage.
The entrance to the terminal is from the Chacka-Eenchakkal road. A bridge has been built across the Parvathy Puthanar canal to link the new terminal to the Kazhakuttam-Inchivila NH 47 bypass. The new terminal has a car park area that can accommodate about 600 cars.
There is a pre paid taxi service counter and foreign exchange counter on arrivals area.
Trivandrum Airport was included in Ministry of civil aviation strategic plan for 2010-2015 to upgrade as Category-A airport by developing to aerodrome CODE 4E/4F, construct parallel runway with taxiways alongside both runways and so forth.

Air traffic control

The air traffic control tower is tall. There are plans to build a new tall ATC tower for Trivandrum airport near the new international terminal. The airport has an CAT-1 instrument landing system, DVOR and distance measuring equipment. The airport is also equipped with a Mono-pulse Secondary Surveillance Radar, Air Route Surveillance Radar and an Airport Surveillance Radar which allows approach and area control of the airspace around the airport and nearby air routes.

MRO facility

Trivandrum International Airport hosts Air India's Narrow body Maintenance, repair and overhaul unit—MRO consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft. The Maintenance Repair Overhaul is set up on of land at a cost of Rs. 110 crores it was commissioned on 16 December 2011. The maintenance of two aircraft can be simultaneously done at the two hangars present at the MRO. The facility is state-of-the-art with of workshop, apron, electrically operated and vertically moving hangar door system, warehouse and office space. The Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul facility of Air India Charters Limited at Trivandrum International Airport was given permission to carry out the crucial ‘C’ checks of their Boeing 737-800 fleet.

Expansion

Further expansion of the airport has been planned with the AAI demanding 82 acres for the demolition of the existing domestic terminal and the construction of a newer one and other related facilities for Trivandrum airport. The state government has agreed to acquire 18 acres for the construction of the domestic terminal. The AAI is planning to construct a new terminal of around 40,000 square metres, which would spruce up the city airport's total terminal area to 75,000-square-metres. Paper works, including drawing of plans, for the new terminal building have already begun at the AAI headquarters. The plan is to complete the construction of the new terminal within 18 to 24 months after the state government hands over the land to the Airport Authority of India. The elevation of new terminal would be identical to the existing Terminal 2.

Cargo operations

The cargo activities at the Trivandrum Airport are carried out through the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises. The cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a capacity to import 21,000 MT and export 27,000 MT per annum. In 2010-11, the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT of export cargo. The KSIE is developing a satellite cargo import facility on a temporary basis at the NITB terminal for perishable cargo handling till their final master plan is implemented for developing a huge cargo warehouse on 15 acres of land adjoining the NITB. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to Trivandrum International Airport.

Other operations

In addition to Civil operations, Trivandrum airport also caters to IAF and Coast Guard for their strategical operations. IAF have an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum Airport also caters for Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology. The academy has it own hangar facility at the airport. The hangar facility can accommodate 10 trainer aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Destinations map

Cargo

Security

Trivandrum International Airport is listed among the major airports of India. Its safety and security is handled by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security through the Central Industrial Security Force#Airport security. In the past, the airport security was under the control of airport police. However, following the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, the airport security was handed over to CISF. Trivandrum airport also has advanced security equipment including X-RAY Baggage inspection, Explosive Trace Detection System and provision of an In-Line Baggage Screening system; at the NITB, state-of-the-art Closed Circuit Television, Flight information Display System and Public Address systems, as well as an Interactive Voice Response System for flight information, are there for passengers' convenience.
In-Line Baggage Screening system was installed at Terminal 2 on 21st July 2020.

Connectivity

Road

Trivandrum International Airport is connected to National Highway 66 which connects the airport to the city and other parts. The National Highway 66 links the airport with the upcoming Vizhinjam International Seaport.

Buses

Buses connect Trivandrum airport to different parts of the city. Services are mainly operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation which connects the airport to East Fort, Techno Park, Kollam etc.

Rail

The nearest railway station is Kochuveli railway station which is about 5 km away and Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station is about 5.5 km. These railway stations are well connected with different regions of the country.

Helicopter

Chipsan Aviation air charter services operating Helitaxi service from the airport to the various locations.

Taxis

Pre-paid taxi services are available from both the terminals of Trivandrum airport.
Taxi aggregators Uber and Ola is with in service area.