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IXU for Air Connectivity: Scope of increasing Air Connectivity of Aurangabad Airport (IXU/VAAU)

Respected Sir/Madam,

Jai Hind. I am writing this letter with regards to the scope of increasing air connectivity of Chikkalthana / Aurangabad Airport (IXU/VAAU), India. I am sure you know about this place. In this mail, I will make you more familier regarding the possibilities of starting new services from IXU Airport. Hope this will make you consider for better network planning

Airport Amenities:
1. Passenger terminal with 22,500 Sqr Mtr floor area.
2. Runway: 9300 feet ( 2839 Mtr ) with proposed extension of 2700 feet ( 825 Mtr ) to make it 12000 feet (3664 Mtrs) for vide body Aircraft like B747, B777 etc.
3. 04 number of Aircraft Parking bay for aircrafts like Airbus A320, A330 and Neos, Boeing 737, 767.
4. 2 aerobridges, 2 aprons, 3 bays for night parking, four operating boarding gates (more available), ready to use airline office space available.
5. 4 domestic + 2 international boarding gates, 2 outof the operational 6 gates have common aerobridges, efficient enough to handle passenger traffic

Key takeaways (Airport amenities):
1. IXU airport agrees to provide 0 % VAT on ATF for all airlines to operate, given a submitted proposal to operate; currently the VAT is 5 %, which is lowest rate in Aurangabad compared to other major Airports in Maharashtra.
2. Night parking facility available; traffic congestion at BOM and PNQ airports can be reduced by utilizing this facility.
3. International air cargo terminal (to be operational soon) . domestic cargo facility is in operation
4. Airport can be functional from early morning to late night and has all related security and safety arrangements.
5. ATC watch hours from early morning to late night.
6. Presently there are 05 departure ( 10 no. of movements ) more Air traffic potential to operate 6 to 8 additional flights at present.
7. Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) for passenger checkin facility available
8. Others: DGCA licensed aerodome, declared customs airport, ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.
9. Available transportation facilities like bus, cabs, parking facility and connectivity to Aurangabad city (approx 10 kms)

In a nutshell, IXU airport has all the basic amenities for starting new services at this moment of time.

Airport Movement:
1. Average 700 passengers travel daily from here**
2. Passenger movement in 2014 was 4,58,107 (2.27% increase from last year)*
3. Domestic cargo movement had more significant increase than the passenger movement in subsequent years*
4. Domestic destinations (direct flights: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, connecting flights: Tirupati, Goa) and International destination (Jeddah during Haj via BOM)
5. Daily 10 aircrafts movements at IXU airport
6. Air India, Jet Airways, Jet Connect, TruJet operate domestic services; international services during Haj every year
7. Blue Dart operates domestic cargo services

* most recent data may be available on the web.
** data relevance may vary.

Airport Expansion:
1. It is proposed to extend runway and parallel taxi way with allied services / infrastructures
2. At present, Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd. (MADC) and Govt. Of Maharashtra is looking after land acquision process

Aurangabads Strong Points:
1. AURIC (Aurangabad Industrial City) is a part of auspicious DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) project that made it to the first phase of smart sustainable industrial city development project, and currently is the first smart city in India with walk to work culture.
2. Shendra and Bidkin are two nodes of the DMIC project; Shendra phase is nearing completion, Bidkin running ahead of schedule, Shendra is near to IXU Airport.
3. Tourism capital of Maharashtra with two UNESCO world heritage sites Ajanta and Ellora caves and has a huge potential for tourism development.
4. Is a part of western automobile corridor has many SEZs or assembling units of Automobile, Pharma, IT, Food Processing, etc.
5. Paithan Mega Food Park, biggest food park in Maharashtra is just 60 kms. from Aurangabad city.
6. JNPT Jalna dry port, a proposed project is just 60 kms from here.
7. Electronic Cluster, a proposed project will be coming at Shendra
8. Aurangabad is a part of high speed rail corridor project from Mumbai to Kolkata, via Nagpur

New routes announced/Proposed:
1. Jet Airways had announced DEL-IXU new direct flight (est. by October 2018) with schedule declared on their website.
2. Zoom Air had announced DEL-IXU-BLR route, the same is approved by DGCA for Zooms winter schedule.
3. Indigo and Spicejet had requested for feasibility of DEL route, and as per IXU Airport Directors response, these airlines have promised to provide services. Earlier, Indigo officials had visited the airport for analyzing airport services.
4. Vistara is planning to start DEL-IXU service by March 2019; Air Asia also promised to give services to IXU by summer 2019
5. Udaipur and Jodhpur routes are proposed under RCS UDAN III, and these routes are currently open for bidding (Jet Airways will likely run these routes)
6. As per talks of IXU Airport Director with officials of MoCA, CM of Maharashtra, and other govt. officials, IXU Airport is considerable for new International destinations under International Buddhist Circuit connectivity
7. Fly Dubai had specially requested MoCA by seeking permission for starting Dubai-Aurangabad direct daily flight by using Boeing 737 aircraft, also they have provided a possible feasible schedule of this proposed route
8. Chinese delegates have announced Dunhuang-Beijing-Aurangabad route, considering the 18 lakh average Chinese tourists visiting Aurangabad.
9. Air Malaysia has plans of providing services to Malaysian cities, considering the tourist flow towards Aurangabad

Social awareness about new services:
1. People of Aurangabad are really concerned about IXU Airport and active on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter regarding new services to IXU. #IXU_for_Air_Connectivity has been started that proposes to make airlines and government officials aware of providing related air connectivity services to Aurangabad.
2. IXU Airport director keeps periodic followup with various airlines and MoCA officials regarding new services.
3. A meeting of various airline representatives with local leaders, industrialists and organisations (CMIA), Govt. officials, MoCA representatives, etc. was organized at Aurangabad recently. It got a positive response from the airline representatives.
4. Huge demand from IXU are on the routes: – Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Tirupati, Hyderabad, Nagpur, etc.

At a glance, Aurangabad has strong potential and thus demands improved air connectivity to different parts of India and the world. IXU welcomes all airlines and MoCA officials in carrying our any feasibility surveys, airport facilities check, and other related enquiries regarding possibility of starting new services from here.

Akshay Chabukswar
Aviation Enthusiast,
Aurangabad

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