AHMEDABAD AIRPORT
The Ahmedabad airport handles nearly three fourth of the air traffic of the state. The airport handled 2.4 million passengers in 2007-08 and is expected to handle 6 million passengers in 2010 and 9 million in 2012, including both domestic and international passengers.
Presently the airport is under expansion on the terminal and apron side and hence the capacity would be enhanced by 2009. The new domestic terminal is already in operation and new international terminal and apron are under construction. The capacity at the Ahmedabad airport cannot be segregated between international and domestic passengers as they share a common runway and apron. The international side apron will be used for parking domestic flights during peak hours.
The capacity of Ahmedabad airport post 2009 expansion would be as follows:
Exhibit: Capacity of Ahmedabad airport post 2009 expansion
| Parameter | Capacity |
| Runway |
15 per hour |
| Small aircraft apron area |
4 bays |
| ATR /medium sized aircraft apron area |
3 bays |
| Apron for Boeing 747/Airbus A320 |
10 bays |
| Apron for Boeing 747 |
5-6 bays |
| Domestic Terminal |
1650 pax |
| International Terminal |
1000 pax |
| Cargo Terminal |
1 no. |
| Hanger for small aircrafts/helicopter |
2 |
| Night parking facility (Aircrafts) |
4-6 no. |
Source: AAI,
Ahmedabad
Based on above expansion plan and if the runway capacity remains the same, the airport will have annual handling capacity of around 53 lakh domestic passengers and around 23 lakh international passenger considering 24 hours of operations. This will imply around 300 takeoffs and landings nearing the design peak runway capacity of 350 landings/takeoffs in 24 hours.
It appears that the limit of domestic passengers would be reached by 2011-12 and that for international passengers would be reached by 2013-14. However considering full capacity utilisation during peak hours and slack utilisation during off peak hours, the capacity limitations could be reached a year earlier. The limitation primarily arises from runway capacity. Further expansion will be constrained due to the non availability of land in the vicinity of present airport.
Thus Ahmedabad would require new airport capacity by 2011-13 periods, the exact threshold being reached depending on the demand. This can probably be met through a new international airport, with all its attendant benefits in terms of being a growth trigger for the region.