Bagdogra Airport () is a

customs airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have facilities ...

serving the city of

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

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 located in

Bagdogra Bagdogra is a settlement in the Naxalbari (community development block), Naxalbari Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Siliguri subdivision of the Darjeeling district, in the Indian States and territories of India, state of We ...

, south-west from the city centre. It is operated as a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country India Visakhapatnam Airport operates as a civil enclav ...

at the Bagdogra Air Force Station of the

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 ...

. It is the gateway to the

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

s of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

Kurseong Kurseong (, ) is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throu ...

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

Mirik Mirik is a small town and a Notified Area of Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Mirik subdivision. The name ''Mirik'' comes from the Lepcha words ''Mir-Yok'' meaning "place burnt by fire". ...

and other parts of North Bengal region and North-Eastern

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. Siliguri, being a major transport and economic hub, the airport sees thousands of travellers and tourists annually. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

conferred limited

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

status to the airport in 2002 with limited international operations to Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi and Paro. It is the second-busiest airport in the state after

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The airport experiences

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

code: ''Cwa'') - hot humid summers and cool winters. There is significant precipitation in all seasons, but remains drier in winters. Air traffic at Bagdogra crossed 1 million for the first time, growing at 43.6% per cent in 2014–15. In 2019–20, the airport served 3.2 million passengers, which was an increase of 11.2% from the previous year, making it the 17th-busiest airport in India. It is one of the few airports in India with zero sales tax on aviation turbine fuel. This airport has routes to 13 airports and serves 3 countries (

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

). The most served route from this airport is to

Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving New Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of ,

, Delhi.

Air Force Station

The airbase is home to the IAF No. 20 Wing, as well to the

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "''Balalaika''", because its planf ...

(Mig-21) FL

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

of the No. 8 Squadron and a Helicopter Unit. Along with the airbase at

Hasimara Hasimara is a town in Alipurduar district of West Bengal state, India near the border with Bhutan, in the eastern Sivalik Hills. It is located at 26° 45' N latitude and 89° 21' E longitude at an altitude of 109 metres above sea level and has a ...

Alipurduar district Alipurduar district (), is one of the 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Jalpaiguri Division. Alipurduar city is the headquarters of the district. It was made a district by bifurcating Jalpaiguri di ...

; it is responsible for combat air operations over a large area including Northern

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

and if needed,

. The base caters to all military air traffic for the Indian Army's XXXIII Corps based nearby in Sukna.

Expansion

The

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

had handed over of land to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for developing infrastructure for night landing in 2010. AAI also expanded the

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

at the same time, enabling the parking of 5

narrow-body aircraft A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than in width. In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with m ...

simultaneously. The IAF, which maintains the ATC and runway, permitted night landings by civilian aircraft allowing flights past 6 PM in 2013. For its growing traffic over the years, in 2022, From 11 to 25 April, the airport was shut down for 14 days to refurbish its sole runway. The new terminal building, which started its construction in Q4 2024, is expected to be completed by March 2027 with 16 parking bays, 10

aerobridges A jet bridge is an enclosed connector which most commonly extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, and in some instances from a port to a boat or ship, allowing passengers to board and disembark without heading outside and being exp ...

and a parallel taxiway to the runway. It will have a floor area of 1 lakh sq.m. at a cost of ₹ 3,000 crore and capable of handling 12.5 million passengers annually. CP Kukreja Architects did the design work of the new terminal building as the Architectural & Engineering Consultant, the construction bid going to Kalpataru Projects International Ltd. After the expansion of the airport, more international flights can land here, and will turn this customs airport into an international one.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

* 23 May 2008: A

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

of the

had to perform a

belly landing A belly landing or gear-up landing occurs when an aircraft lands without its landing gear fully extended and uses its underside, or belly, as its primary landing device. Normally the term ''gear-up landing'' refers to incidents in which the pilo ...

due to a technical snag and a jammed landing gear. The aircraft hard landed on the runway causing it to catch fire. The pilot ejected safely. The aircraft was written off subsequently. * 5 July 2013: AI879, an

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

arriving from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

swerved off the taxiway while taxiing towards the apron after landing. No injuries were reported. The passengers were immediately de-boarded. The aircraft sustained minor damage and took about 7 hours to bring the stuck aircraft to the taxiway. *11 July 2014: A mishap was avoided between

IndiGo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

flight 6E472 and

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

flight AI879. Both aircraft received a

Traffic Collision Avoidance System A traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS), pronounced ), also known as an Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), is an aircraft collision avoidance system designed to reduce the incidence of mid-air collision (MAC) between aircraf ...

warning. Following the Resolution Advisory given by the TCAS the IndiGo flight immediately descended and the Air India flight turned right. Both aircraft landed safely without any injuries. * 15 February 2019: An

Air Asia India AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India, was an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Bangalore (Bengaluru), Karnataka and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Limited which in turn is owned by Tata Group. The airline was founded as ...

scheduled for a flight from Bagdogra Airport to

Kempegowda International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by ...

damaged its left wing sharklets while backtracking the runway. The two pilots were later suspended for 6 months by the DGCA in view of violating laid down procedures. * 16 December 2019: An

A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is an incremental development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' being Greek for "new", as well as an acronym for "new engine option") is based on the enhance ...

bound for

performed an emergency landing in view of engine related issues. The aircraft was using

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially ...

engines. Out of the two engines, one engine was not modified which caused the issue. * 7 March 2025: An Antonov An-32 of the

crashed on landing at Bagdogra Airport. Although the aircraft was destroyed there were no fatalities.

References

External links

Bagdogra Airport
at

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 ...

website. {{Indian Air Force Buildings and structures in Darjeeling district Transport in Jalpaiguri district Airports in West Bengal Transport in Siliguri Airports with year of establishment missing