Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (IATA: VNS, ICAO: VEBN) is an international airport serving Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located at Babatpur,^[4] 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Varanasi. Formerly known as Varanasi Airport, it was officially renamed after Lal Bahadur Shastri, the 2nd Prime Minister of India, in October 2005.^[5] It is the 20th-busiest airport in India in terms of passenger movement, and the second-busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh. The airport is awarded as the best airport in Asia-Pacific in 2020 (2 to 5 million passengers per annum) by Airports Council International.^[6]

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport
IATA: VNS ICAO: VEBN
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of India
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Varanasi
Location	Babatpur, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, India
Elevation AMSL	270 ft / 82.30 m
Coordinates	25°27′08″N 082°51′34″E / 25.45222°N 82.85944°E / 25.45222; 82.85944Coordinates: 25°27′08″N 082°51′34″E / 25.45222°N 82.85944°E / 25.45222; 82.85944
Website	Varanasi Airport
Map
VNS Location of airport in Uttar Pradesh Show map of Uttar Pradesh VNS VNS (India) Show map of India VNS VNS (South Asia) Show map of South Asia VNS VNS (Middle East) Show map of Middle East VNS VNS (Asia) Show map of Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 2,745 9,006 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2021 - March 2022)
Passengers 1,708,220 ( 16.5%) Aircraft Movements 16,143 ( 12.1%) Cargo Tonnage 4,345 ( 47.2%)
Source: AAI^[1]^[2]^[3]

Terminal

 

Lal Bahadur Shastri statue at Varanasi Airport

An integrated terminal serves both domestic and international flights, with a floor area of 3,900 square metres (42,000 square feet).^[7] The terminal features 16 check-in counters with CUTE (common-user terminal equipment), four immigration counters that double up as emigration counters, and two baggage-claim belts.^[8] Besides an upper-level seating area for the aero-bridge gates, the terminal features a ground-level gate to reach other aircraft on the apron on foot, or via shuttle bus.^[8] The apron can simultaneously park five narrow-body aircraft.^[9] The waiting area features essential services for the passengers, besides snack stalls, a travellers' convenience store, a bookstore with a newsstand, and stores selling merchandise indigenous to Varanasi, such as Banarasi Saris; and a VIP waiting lounge.^[10]

 

Replica of Varanasi ghats at Varanasi Airport

Airfield

The airport features a single asphalt runway bearing 09/27. It is 9,006 feet (2,745 m) in length, with turnarounds on both ends, and two exits to the main apron.^[8] A third, seldom-used exit leads to an isolated apron for use in emergency.^[8]

 

An IndiGo aircraft being serviced by an aerobridge at Varanasi Airport

Airlines and destinations

 

Apron area of the airport

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi, Mumbai^[11]
Air India Express	Sharjah
Akasa Air	Bangalore, Goa–Mopa^1^[12]^[13]
Buddha Air	Kathmandu
Go First^[14]	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai^[15]
IndiGo	Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]
SpiceJet	Delhi, Mumbai^[20]
Vistara	Delhi, Mumbai^[21]^[22]

¹: The flight is operated via a stop at Bangalore.^[23]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at VNS airport. See Wikidata query.

Future plans

Due to increasing passenger traffic and aircraft movements the Airports Authority of India is planning to extend the runway to 4,075 m (13,369 ft) from the existing 2,750 m (9,020 ft). An underpass will be constructed as the expansion will intersect with National Highway 31.^[24]

In November 2019, the Airports Authority of India came up with a proposal for a new second terminal, which will be completed by 2024. The total area of the terminal will be 58,691 m² with passenger capacity of 4.5 million per year.^[25]

See also

• List of airports in India
• List of the busiest airports in India
• Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport

References

1. "Traffic News for the month of March 2022: AnnexureIII" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 23 April 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
2. "Traffic News for the month of March 2022: Annexure-II" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 23 April 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
3. "Traffic News for the month of March 2022: Annexure-IV" (PDF). Airports Authority of India. 23 April 2022. p. 3. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
4. . Airports Authority of India. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
5. "Varanasi Airport renamed". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 20 October 2005.. It acquired its position in India's major airports after more than 1.5 million passengers used the airport in 2017.
6. "2020 - Best Airport by Size and Region". ACI World. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
7. "Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport or Varanasi Airport (VNS)".
8. "Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport or Varanasi Airport (VNS)". AAI. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
9. "Varanasi Airport (VNS), Varanasi International Airport | IndiGo". www.goindigo.in. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
10. "Shopping". AAI. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
11. "Time Table". www.airindia.in. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
12. Joshi, Gaurav (2 February 2023). "Varanasi To Goa Via Bengaluru: Akasa Air's Latest Offering". Simple Flying. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
13. "Akasa Air Flight Network". Akasa Air. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
14. "Budget airline GoAir rebrands as Go First". The Hindu. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
15. "GoAir to commence Mumbai-Varanasi service in Mar-2020". CAPA. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
16. "Flights Schedule for Domestic & International Flights | IndiGo". www.goindigo.in. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
17. "New Flights of IndiGo". IndiGo. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
18. "IndiGo to start daily flights on six UDAN routes in next two months". Economic Times. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
19. "Indigo Flights Schedule".
20. "SpiceJet Flight Schedules".
21. "Vistara Flight Destinations (Network) in India - Route Map". www.airvistara.com.
22. "Vistara adds Khajuraho flights". Vistara. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
23. "Akasa Air Flight Network". Akasa Air. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
24. "UP airport 1st to have national highway under runway - Times of India". The Times of India.
25. "गंगा की लहरों व शिवलिंग सा होगा वाराणसी एलबीएस इंटरनेशनल एयरपोर्ट टर्मिनल, डिजाइन तैयार". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). 10 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2020.

External links

  Media related to Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• at Airports Authority of India web site