Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airports Authority of India | ||||||||||
| Serves | Indore | ||||||||||
| Location | Bijasan, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1948 29 May 2019 (upgraded to international) | ||||||||||
| Hub for | IndiGo | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | |||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,850 ft / 528 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 22°43′18″N 75°48′03″E / 22.72167°N 75.80083°E | ||||||||||
| Website | Indore Airport | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
IDR IDR | |||||||||||
Interactive map of Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (April 2024 - March 2025) | |||||||||||
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| Source: AAI[1][2][3] | |||||||||||
Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport (IATA: IDR, ICAO: VAID) is a customs airport[a] serving the city of Indore, the financial capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the busiest airport in Central India and is located at Bijasen Tekri, 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Indore. The airport is named after the second ruler of the Holkar dynasty, Rajmata Ahilyabai Holkar. It is a single runway airport with night landing facilities, enabling day and night operations from the airport since 2018.
The airport handled around 3.8 million passengers in the year 2024-25, making it the 21st-busiest airport in India by passenger traffic in the year 2024-25 according to the statistics released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It caters to around 21 domestic and 1 international destinations. It is also the prime cargo hub for Madhya Pradesh exceeding the combined cargo tonnage of the next 4 busiest airports of the state, making it the 15th busiest cargo airport in India in 2024-25.
History
On the recommendations of Nevill Vintcent of Messrs Tata and Sons (Aviation Department), the Indore State administration, under the rule of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II, selected the site adjacent to Bijasen for the construction of the airport in 1935. First air services from Indore to Gwalior, Delhi and Mumbai began in July 1948. The airport was later handed over to the Government of India in April 1950 under the Central Financial Integration Scheme. A new runway measuring 5,600 feet in length was completed by March 1966 at a cost of ₹15 lakh to accommodate larger aircrafts of the time.
Airport Structure
The total land area of DABH airport measures 729 acres (295 ha). The airport has two terminals, T1 for smaller aircrafts like ATR and T2 for larger jets. The current terminal building (T2) is spread over 18,000 m2 (190,000 sq ft). The Madhya Pradesh Flying Club (MPFC) is at the south end of the runway. Its apron has space for four-C172 aircraft simultaneously.[4]
Apron
The main apron is connected to both the terminals. It has space for one B737, four B737/A321, four ATR72 and one Q400 aircraft simultaneously. An additional apron with 15 parking bays along with a parallel taxiway was created under the airport expansion plan in Mar 2021. This has increased the current aircraft parking capacity to 26 at the airport.
Airfield and Runway
The airfield is equipped with night landing facilities and a CAT-1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) (on Runway 25 only) as well as navigational facilities like DVOR/DME and an NDB. The sole runway 07/25 is 2,750 m long and 45 m wide. A runway extension is planned to accommodate larger Code-E aircrafts as a part of the expansion plan for the airport.[5] The airport currently caters to the movement of 96 flights every day. In 2019, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had given its approval for operating international flights from the airport making it the first international airport in Madhya Pradesh.[6]
A new tower-cum-technical block of the air traffic controller (ATC) has been inaugurated in December 2024. The fire extinguisher building has also been shifted along with the ATC to the other side of the runway. This would make space for the airside expansion of the apron for the new terminal. In addition, a zero-waste plant has also been installed at the airport as part of the ongoing commitment to sustainability.[6]
Terminals
Terminal - 1 (T1)
The older airport terminal was abandoned once the newer terminal was built in 2012. But to accommodate the increasing capacity of travelers at DABH airport, Terminal-1 has been replanned and renovated. T1 would serve as the arrival and departure terminal for smaller ATR aircrafts as well as the international flights from the airport. This would add an additional 15 Lakh (1.5 Million) passenger capacity to the airport. It has 3 gates on the ground floor (airside) along with 2 baggage carousel (one domestic and one international). The renovated terminal will begin to function from April 2026.
Terminal - 2 (T2)
A new integrated terminal building (NITB) was inaugurated on 14 February 2012. It was built by AAI at a cost of ₹135 crore (US$16 million) and is capable of handling 700 passengers per hour.[7] The current T2 has an annual capacity of 40 Lakh (4 Million) travelers. It has 16 check-in counters, 16 immigration counters (four for departure and 12 for arrivals) and four counters for customs, along with modern escalators, lifts, self check-in kiosks and a high-tech baggage handling system with 3 baggage carousels. Additionally, 569 CCTVs and X-ray machines are available for security. As per the international standards, it also has two ATMs (01 SBI and 01 Union Bank of India), shopping stalls and a food court.[8] There are 5 aerobridges and 11 gates (8 on first floor and 3 on the ground floor) at the terminal.
Terminal - 3 (T3) (planned)
Currently the two terminals combined provide a capacity of 55 Lakh (5.5 Million) passenger annually. This capacity is expected to exceed in the coming years due to the rapid growth of the city. A phase wise expansion plan has been devised for the airport. Under this, a new larger terminal adjoining terminal-2, along with an airport hotel and a convention center, have been planned at the airport site. The central aviation authority has granted the approval for the third terminal, which would be built after shifting the current parking space.
Cargo Terminal
A domestic air cargo terminal (area: 1700 sq m) and center for perishable cargo (area: 300 sq m) was inaugurated in June 2023. The terminal has been built at a cost of Rs. 13 Crore. It has a capacity to handle 73,000 MT of cargo annually. The airport is projected to handle 25,000 MT of cargo by the year 2029-2030. Currently, Indigo, Air India, and Vistara airlines carry out cargo movements from the airport.[4]
As of October 2025, plans are in motion to introduce dedicated cargo flights from the airport in partnership with local traders and industry bodies and expanding the air cargo operations.[5]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air India | Delhi, Mumbai |
| Air India Express[9] | Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa–Mopa,[10] Hyderabad,[11] Pune,[12] Sharjah[13] |
| Alliance Air | Delhi |
| IndiGo | Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh,[14] Chennai, Delhi, Goa–Dabolim, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jodhpur(Ends 29 March 2026), Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nashik(Ends 29 March 2026), Pune, Raipur, Rewa , Udaipur(Ends 29 March 2026), Visakhapatnam(Ends 29 March 2026) |
| Star Air | Hyderabad, Mumbai–Shivaji, Gondia |
Statistics
Expansion Plan
Expansion on the Current Airport
A Multi Level Car Parking (MLCP) is planned at the airport in front of Terminal-2, to give way for the new terminal (T3). In addition to that, an underground metro station of the Indore Metro yellow line is being constructed besides T2. An intercity metro is also planned between Ujjain and Indore terminating at the DABH airport, in view with the Simhastha 2028.[15]
New Airport
In view of the future and the growing traffic, due to which the airport may not be able to cope up with it, at least after the present decade, a new airport has been proposed, which is planned to become India's largest greenfield airport near Chapda town, about 40 km (25 mi) from Indore. The plan has been approved by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.[15][16]
An alternate plan to redevelop the Ujjain airstrip has also been put forward in view of the 2028 Simhastha. The two airports (Indore and Ujjain) would match the required capacity of the newer proposed airport at Chapda.[16]
Awards
DABH airport was adjudged as the Best Airport in under 20 lakh (2 million) annual passenger footfall category in Asia-Pacific region in the Airports Council International (ACI)'s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey's rankings for the year 2017. The World Book of Records, UK, bestowed the Worlds Standardisation Certification to the airport for the achievement of ACI Award 2017 on 9 April 2018.
See also
- Gwalior Airport
- House of Holkar
- Indore State
- Jabalpur Airport
- List of airports in India
- List of the busiest airports in India
- Maratha Empire
- Raja Bhoj Airport
Notes
- ^ Airport with customs checking and clearance facility, and handles predominantly domestic traffic. A very limited number of international flights are allowed to operate from the airport.
References
- ^ "Annexure III – Passenger Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Annexure II – Aircraft Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "Annexure IV – Freight Movement Data" (PDF). aai.aero. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Airports Authority of India". Aai.aero. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
- ^ a b Upadhyay, Manish (25 February 2024). "Flying High: Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Airport Achieves 20 Years Passenger Movement Capacity In 10 Yrs". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Aviation: Indore airport gets nod to operate international flights". Zee Business. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "New terminal of Devi Ahilya Bai airport inaugurated". Daily Bhaskar. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "International flights from Indore by mid-2012". The Times of India. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ "Our Network". Air India Express. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Air India Express NS25 Domestic Network Additions – 16MAR25". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ "Introducing direct daily flights between Hyderabad and Indore on January 15". AviationAll. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "New flights from Pune to Indore".
- ^ "Air India Express to commence Indore-Sharjah service in Mar-2023". CAPA. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ Sharma, Anu (1 November 2022). "IndiGo commences direct flights between Indore and Chandigarh". Livemint. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b Khan, Firoz (6 March 2022). "Airport in Madhya Pradesh: मध्य प्रदेश में जल्द बन सकता है देश का सबसे बड़ा एयरपोर्ट, जानिए क्या है पूरी प्लानिंग". ABP News (in Hindi). Retrieved 13 January 2023.
- ^ a b Sharma, Harinarayan (13 July 2022). "भास्कर ब्रेकिंग: चापड़ा के पास नए एयरपोर्ट को मिनिस्ट्री की हरी झंडी, पहले चरण में 10 हजार एकड़ जमीन पर काम शुरू करेगा उद्योग विभाग". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). Retrieved 13 January 2023.