Rajahmundry Airport

Rajahmundry Airport (IATA: RJA, ICAO: VORY) is a domestic airport located at Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located on National Highway 516E. During 1985–1994, it was used by Vayudoot. It is heavily used by the helicopters of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and other government agencies for offshore oil exploration operations.

History

The airport was constructed during the British era and is spread over an area of 366 acres (148 ha). It was served by Vayudoot between 1985 and 1994 and by VIF Airways in 1995. The Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU worth ₹23 crore (equivalent to ₹59 crore or US$7.4 million in 2020) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in February 2007 for modernising the airport. Works on a new terminal building to accommodate 150 passengers and a control tower were completed in 2011 at a cost of ₹38 crore (US$4.8 million). The terminal was inaugurated on 16 May 2012.

Limited by the runway length, airlines operate smaller 70 seat turbo-prop aircraft like the ATR-72 and the Q-400. The AAI has extended the existing runway from 1,749 metres (5,738 ft) to 3,165 metres (10,384 ft) to enable landing of aircraft like the Airbus A320, Airbus A321 and it was inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on 12 February 2019. Approximately, 800 acres have been acquired for this expansion. The government is aiming to develop this airport as an international airport.

The airport has seen a rapid increase of passenger footfall during the second half of 2020 – from 7,700 in July to 28,900 in December. As part of the expansion plans, construction of a new terminal is proposed at a cost of ₹135 crore (US$17 million). The new terminal would be able to handle about 1,400 passengers.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
IndiGo	Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam