Rajkot Airport
IATA: RAJ ICAO: VARK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Authority of India
Serves	Rajkot
Location	Rajkot, Gujarat, India
Passenger services ceased	September 10, 2023 (2023-09-10)
Elevation AMSL	135 m / 443 ft
Coordinates	22°18′33″N 070°46′46″E / 22.30917°N 70.77944°E / 22.30917; 70.77944
Maps
RAJ Show map of Gujarat RAJ Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 1,843 6,047 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2022 – March 2023)
Passengers 770,605 ( 83.3%) Aircraft movements 7,662 ( 80.5%) Cargo tonnage 890 ( 28.6%)
Source: AAI[1][2][3]

Rajkot Airport (IATA: RAJ, ICAO: VARK) is a public airport serving the city of Rajkot, Gujarat, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It used to be the 4th busiest airport in Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara before all scheduled commercial operations were shifted to Rajkot International Airport on 10 September 2023. The airport remains open for General aviation, including VVIP traffic.^[4]

Development

In 2019, the AAI began building an apron for parking of four Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 type aircraft to reduce waiting time for passengers at the airport. ^[5]

The airport suffered from considerable capacity restraints, due to the expansion of the city and because of the residential and commercial areas surrounding it. This rendered the plan to extend the runway beyond 1,800 metres unfeasible. As the airport was incapable of serving aircraft larger than Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 (which is the largest aircraft operating from the airport), a plan for an entirely new airport was launched.

Airlines and destinations

All scheduled commercial flights were shifted to the new Rajkot International Airport in Hirasar on 10 September 2023.^[4]

Statistics