Jodhpur Airport is a

domestic airport A domestic airport is an airport that handles only flights within the same country. Domestic airports do not have customs and immigration facilities and so cannot handle flights to or from a foreign airport. These airports often have short r ...

and an

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

base serving the city of

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is operated by the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civi ...

(AAI) and shares its airside with the Jodhpur Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. The

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its districts of Rajasthan, 41 districts. It consists of an executive branch, led by the governor of Rajasthan, as well as judiciary and legis ...

signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the

for the expansion of the passenger terminal in March 2017, wherein 37 acres of IAF land was transferred to AAI. In May 2021, it was transferred by IAF to AAI through Jodhpur Development Authority (JoDA), and the terminal was built. It is the 48th-busiest airport in India, handling more than half a million passengers in FY 2018–2019. Beside the existing terminal, a new, larger terminal is being constructed to meet the rapidly rising traffic and demands. Its

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

in October 2023, and construction began in the same month. It is slated to be completed by the end of 2025.

History

The Jodhpur Flying Club was set up by Maharaja Umaid Singh in the 1920s at a small airfield near his Chittar Palace ( Umaid Bhavan Palace) in Jodhpur. Through the next three decades, the airfield grew in stature, being used as an airfield for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The airfield was upgraded in 1950 after the formation of the

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British Raj, British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the British Indian Army, and the Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The ...

(which later became the Indian Air Force). Jodhpur was home to the IAF's Air Force Flying College until the 1965 war.

Structure

The airport's 12-acre civil enclave contains a terminal building measuring a built-up area of 5,690 m², which is capable of handling 430 passengers per hour. The terminal has seven check-in counters and three boarding gates. The adjoining concrete apron measures 140 by 100 metres and has three parking bays that can cater to two

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

and

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

type aircraft simultaneously. The runway is 2,743 metres long and 45 metres wide. The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities and an Instrument Landing System (ILS) as well as navigational facilities like DVOR/ DME and an

NDB NDB may refer to: Finance * National development bank, set up by a country's government to improve that country's economy * New Development Bank, a development bank jointly operated by the BRICS nations * NDB Bank, Sri Lankan commercial bank Pol ...

Jodhpur Air Force Station

Squadrons of

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv () is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requ ...

Mikoyan MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-sweep attack aircraft, ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-pro ...

Mil Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russ ...

and

Sukhoi Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a two-seater, twinjet Multirole combat aircraft, multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautic ...

aircraft are based here. It was active during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

of 1999. There is also a battalion of the

Garud Commando Force The Garud Commando Force is the special forces of the Indian Air Force. It was formed on 6 February 2004 and with a plan to have around 2,000-personnel strength. The unit derives its name from ''Garuda'', a Hindu deity. Garud forces are tasked ...

here. On 3 October 2022, IAF inducted

HAL Prachand The HAL Prachand () is an Indian multi-role light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Project ''Light Combat Helicopter'' (LCH). It has been ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the In ...

into 143 Helicopter Unit at Jodhpur Air Force Station. HAL light combat helicopter

Airlines and destinations

Interior of the airport

Statistics

References

External links

Jodhpur Airport webpage
at official Airports Authority of India web site.
Times of India - "Aviator Maharaja"

{{Indian Air Force Airports in Rajasthan Buildings and structures in Jodhpur Transport in Jodhpur World War II sites in India 1920s establishments in India