Bagdogra Airport or Civil Aerodrome Bagdogra (Bengali: বাগডোগরা বিমান বন্দর) (IATA: IXB, ICAO: VEBD), a military airport that is open for civilian flights. The airport is located in the town of Bagdogra, about 16 km (9.9 mi) from the city of Siliguri in the Darjeeling district in northern West Bengal, India. The airport is a major stop in the region with flights connecting Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Guwahati. The airport sees thousands of tourists annually, most destined to the hill station towns of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, and Kalimpong and the state of Sikkim.

The airport also has an aerodrome, with regular helicopter flights to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. Foreign tourist permits are made in this airport for those intending to journey to Sikkim. The airport infrastructure is being upgraded.

Two aprons were inaugurated at Bagdogra Airport in DecemberTemplate:Which year. The aerodrome operates eight to nine flights a day had only three aprons earlier. Currently, at least five aircraft can be parked at one time. The old aprons are being revamped to bring it to the level of the new ones so that there is parking space for six planes. Reports available with AAI indicated that traffic had substantially increased in Bagdogra this year. In November 2007, 31,854 passengers had availed of 430 flights. In 2008, the number of passengers for the same month is 51,914 who travelled on 558 flights. Bagdogra airport in North Bengal will soon have night landing facility. Buoyed by the defence ministry nod, the state government decided to hand over 14.5 acres (59,000 m) of land to the civil aviation ministry for developing infrastructure for night landing. Bagdogra will be equipped with category III night vision facility that will enable pilots to have clear visibility of 50 m at night. The state government would provide 23 acres (93,000 m) of land to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) free of cost. Out of the total area, the state government would keep under its possession 9-acre (36,000 m), while the rest would be acquired by AAI.

The Indian Air Force's No. 20 Wing is based here. The No. 8 Squadron flying Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Mig-21) FL fighter aircraft and a Helicopter Unit are based here. Along with the airbase at Hasimara, it is responsible for combat air operations over a large area including North Bengal, Sikkim, and if needed, Bhutan. An Indian Army Sub-Area and Base Hospital are located a few kilometres away in Bengdubi. The base is also important as it caters to all military air traffic for the Indian Army's XXXIII Corps based nearby in Sukna.

An Indian Army Aviation Helicopter Squadron is based 15 km (9.3 mi) away in Sevoke, flying Aérospatiale Alouette III (HAL Chetak) helicopters.

Airlines and destinations

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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