Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (IATA: LKO, ICAO: VILK) is an international airport serving Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated in the Amausi area of the city, and was earlier known as Amausi Airport. It was later renamed in 2008 after Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth prime minister of India.
History
The airport was constructed in 1986 to facilitate corporate and government officials. With an increasing number of passengers, AAI decided to upgrade and expand the airport in 1996, owing to an increased number of passengers and the introduction of private operators in the sector.
On 17 July 2008, the GoI officially renamed the airport to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. The second terminal 2 equipped with latest technology was then built in 2012 to handle the increasing domestic traffic. It was inaugurated and granted international status on 19 May 2012.
The construction of a third terminal for international operations was announced in 2016 in order to cater the increasing traffic of passengers. In 2018, the GoI approved the new terminal 3 which will be built at INR 13.83 billion.
In February 2019, the Adani Enterprises-led Adani Lucknow International Airport Limited (ALIAL) won the rights of operations, management and development of the airport under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. As per the agreement, the airports would be handed to the company for a period of 50 years at the highest bid of ₹171 per passenger. The company will pay the per-passenger fee (PPF) to AAI for every domestic and international passenger handled at the airport.
Runway
CCS International Airport has ILS CAT IIIB capability on runway 27, which enables landing in low visibility conditions. Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar, Bangalore, and Kolkata are the only airports in India with ILS CAT IIIB which helps flights land safely even with visibility as low as 50 metres.
Terminals
Visitor’s lobby overlooking departure hall inside new terminal 2
The airport has two operational terminals and one under construction:
- Terminal 1
- The original terminal, built to complement Charbagh Railway Station’s architecture. It has two arrival and three departing gates as well as two immigration counters.
- The terminal which was expanded in 1996.
- It is now used for international flights after the opening of Terminal 2 in 2012.
- Terminal 1 will be demolished in two phases to link Terminals 2 and 3.
- Terminal 2
- The Terminal 2 was originally built to become the international terminal. However, owing to the growing domestic traffic it was made the domestic terminal, leaving Terminal 1 to be the international terminal.
- The terminal was inaugurated by then civil aviation minister Ajit Singh on 19 May 2012 before opening on 2 June 2012. With five boarding gates, Terminal 2 is used for domestic flights. Terminal 2 of Lucknow Airport deals with huge passenger traffic every year. Air traffic growth has put some pressure on aerodromes as of 2017. Minister of State for Civil Aviation said, “project management consultant has been awarded for expansion of existing terminal building for an estimated cost of Rs 8.80 billion”.
CCS International Airport
CCS International Airport airside
- Terminal 3
- On 2 May 2018, Suresh Prabhu, the Minister of Civil Aviation announced that a new international terminal building will be constructed having an area of 1,11,367 square meter including a basement of 20,461 square meter and connecting corridor between Terminals 2 and 3 of 6,646 square meter area and a capacity to handle 13.6 million passengers annually. It is being built at a cost of INR 13.83 billion.
- Peak Hour Handling (PHP) capacity of the new terminal will be 4,000 passengers (3,200 Domestic & 800 International).
- The terminal architecture will endeavour to express the position of Lucknow as a key central city of the province of Uttar Pradesh. Strong references to traditional culture will be expressed by the building’s architecture. Arriving and departing passengers will sense this identity and reference to place. The building will be provided with aesthetically appealing and soothing interior decoration matching the modern structure.
- In 2018, the construction of the terminal was started by Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) and would be completed by December 2021.
- On 25 February 2019, Adani Group was awarded with the operations and expansion of the existing as well as the new terminal 3.
Connectivity
The airport is connected to Lucknow by Lucknow Metro. The Red Line metro station of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport metro station is the airport terminus for Lucknow Metro’s Red Line with the ending terminus being Munshipulia.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air India | Abu Dhabi, Bangalore, Delhi, Dubai-International, Mumbai |
| Alliance Air | Gorakhpur |
| Air India Express | Dubai-International, Muscat |
| Flydubai | Dubai-International |
| Go First | Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai |
| IndiGo | Agra (Begins 1 October, 2021), Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Doha, Dubai-International, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Srinagar, Sharjah |
| Vistara | Delhi |