Gaya Airport

Gaya Airport, also known as Bodhgaya Airport, (IATA: GAY, ICAO: VEGY) is a restricted international airport serving Gaya, Bihar, India. This airport is 12 kilometres south-west of Gaya and 5 kilometres away from the temple city of Bodhgaya which is Gautama Buddha's place of enlightenment.

This article is about the airport in India. For the airport in Niger, see Gaya Airport (Niger).

Gaya Airport
Bodhgaya Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesGaya
LocationGaya, Bihar, India
Opened2002
Elevation AMSL116 m / 380 ft
Coordinates24°44′40″N 084°57′04″E
WebsiteGaya Airport
Map
GAY
GAY
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,286 7,500 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2020 - March 2021)
Passenger movements69,655 (70.7%)
Aircraft movements788 (78.1%)
Source: AAI[1][2]
IndiGo Airbus A320 at Gaya Airport

Expansion

An additional 100 acres of land is under encroachment while another 100 acres of land from four villages is to be acquired for runway expansion. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) plans to develop the airport as a standby to the Kolkata Airport.[3] Minister of State for Civil Aviation K C Venugopal had informed the Rajya Sabha on 28 August 2013 that Airports Authority of India (AAI) has requested the government of Bihar for a further acquisition of around 200 acres to allow the airport to be expanded.

Overview

Gaya Airport is spread over an area of 954 acres. An additional 100 acres of land is under encroachment while another 100 acres of land from four villages is to be acquired for runway expansion. The airport terminal building, spread over 7,500 square meters can handle 250 incoming and 250 outgoing passengers. This airport is mainly seasonal and primarily caters to Buddhist tourists coming from South East Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, etc.[4]

A January 2021 report by the Parliament of India described the IATA code as "inappropriate, unsuitable, offensive and embarrassing" for Gaya due to the city's religious significance. In its report, the Committee on Public Undertakings recommended changing the airport code from "GAY" to "YAG", asking the government to "make all efforts" to change the code. As of February 2022, IATA has rejected a code change, stating that airport codes are permanent unless a strong justification relating to air safety is given.[5] LGBT groups in India have criticised the parliamentary committee's request as reflective of homophobia.[6]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air India Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Yangon
IndiGo Bangalore,[7] Delhi,[8] Kolkata,[9] Mumbai,[10] Varanasi[11]

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at GAY airport. See source Wikidata query.

Passenger, and Aircraft Movement at Gaya Airport (2011-2020)

YearPassengersChangeAircraft MovementChangeRef
2020–21 69,655 70.7% 788 78.1% [12]
2019–20 237,452 11.1% 3,606 36.1% [13]
2018–19 213,635 14.4% 2,649 8.6% [14]
2017–18 186,670 5.1% 2,439 11.2% [15]
2016–17 177,663 13.1% 2,193 4.8% [16]
2015–16 157,144 22.0% 2,093 28.0% [17]
2014–15 128,829 24.6% 1,635 13.8% [18]
2013–14 102,212 16.5% 1,437 5.6% [19]
2012–13 121,091 23.2% 1,524 23.9% [20]
2011–12 98,273 94.0% 1,230 108.5% [21]

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

  1. "Annexure III - Passenger Data" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. "Annexure II - Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). www.aai.aero. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. "Airport land issue: Patna's loss, Gaya's gain". The Times of India. 13 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  4. "Buddhist Tourists". Archived from the original on 26 November 2016.
  5. "'GAY' code for Gaya airport inappropriate; make all efforts to change it: Parliamentary panel tells govt". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  6. Farrukh, Rimal (7 February 2022). "Lawmakers Say This Holy City's Airport Code Is Too GAY". Vice. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  7. "Gaya airport to operate flights to Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai from March 28". Times of India. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  8. "IndiGo to commence Delhi-Gaya service in Oct-2020". CAPA. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  9. "Indigo to operate 22 new domestic flights from 28 March". www.livemint.com. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. "Gaya to Mumbai flight to start from December 25". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. "IndiGo to launch flights on Buddhist circuit from August".
  12. "AAI Traffic News 2020-2021". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  13. "AAI Traffic News 2019-2020". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  14. "AAI Traffic News 2018-2019". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  15. "AAI Traffic News 2017-2018". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  16. "AAI Traffic News 2016-2017". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  17. "AAI Traffic News 2015-2016". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  18. "AAI Traffic News 2014-2015". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  19. "AAI Traffic News 2013-2014". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. "AAI Traffic News 2012-2013". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  21. "AAI Traffic News 2011-2012". www.aai.aero. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
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