Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport is a

military airfield An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

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 ...

as well as

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 ...

serving

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

, the capital of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

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 ...

. Situated at above mean sea level, it is the highest commercial airport in India and one of the highest in the world. The airport is named after

19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche Ngawang Lobzang Thupstan Chognor (), commonly known as 19th Kushok Bakula Rinpoche (19 May 1918 – 4 November 2003) was an Indian Buddhist lama, who also served as India's ambassador to Mongolia. He is mainly known for his efforts in reviv ...

, a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monk whose

Spituk Monastery Spituk Monastery, also known as Spituk Gompa or Pethup Gompa, is a Buddhist monastery in Spituk, Leh district, Ladakh, 8 km from Leh. The site of Spituk was blessed by the Arhat Nyimagung. It was founded by Od-de, the elder brother of Lha Lama ...

is in vicinity to the airfield. Due to its location in between the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, the approach to the airport is one of the most challenging and scenic. 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 February 2019, and construction began in the same month. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the project delayed because of labour shortage and restrictions. It is slated to be completed by October 2025. Upon completion of the new terminal, the airport will be the first hybrid airport in the nation powered by

geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to: * Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth * Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...

and

solar energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

together.

History

The airport was established in 1961 as a military air-strip for landing of military transport aircraft of the

and other nations, such as the

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

and the

Antonov AN-12 The Antonov An-12 ( Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has many variants. For more than thr ...

, for supporting the troops of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

in the forward areas of

. Civilian flights began later, after the 1962 Indo-China War. A separate terminal building was constructed for handling civilian passengers in 1985. In 2016, the airport was to be handed over to

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 ...

, which will expand it for civilian use; however, the airport remains a premier and strategic airfield of the Indian Air Force. The

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

clarified that a portion of land will be earmarked for a construction of a new terminal and the airport will continue to serve military flights. Situated at above mean sea level, it is the highest commercial airport in India and one of the highest in the world.

Infrastructure

Terminal

In 2016, the Indian Air Force allocated of land for the construction of a new civilian terminal. The new terminal covering an area of along with

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 ...

was constructed at a cost of . Leh Airport Runway - panoramio

In 2019, the Airports Authority of India planned to construct a new passenger terminal beside the current terminal at a cost of to cater to increasing traffic. It would be equipped with all modern and essential passenger-friendly facilities, will have 18 check-in counters, in-line baggage handling system and would be capable of serving 2 million passengers per annum. Construction of the new terminal began in February 2019 and was expected to be completed by 2023. It is now slated to be completed by October 2025.

Runway

The airport has one

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

runway of in length. Due to the presence of mountain winds in the afternoon, all flights operate in the morning and the approach is challenging as it is unidirectional with a higher terrain towards the eastern end of the airport. Due to its location in between the Himalayas, the approach to Leh Airport has been named as one of the world's most scenic approaches.

History

Infrastructure

Terminal

Runway

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

References

External links