New terminal at Rajkot Airport will open on 9th February 2025. Read on to know all the details.
New terminal at Rajkot Airport (HSR)
Rajkot’s Hirasar International Airport (HSR), a greenfield airport located approximately 35 kilometers outside of the city on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway, started operations in September 2023. At the time, the main terminal wasn’t ready for operations. Because of that, the cargo terminal is being used for passenger flights for now. When the airport started operating, it was said that the main terminal will be ready by February 2024. However, after that, multiple deadlines have been missed, so much so that the airport authorities had decided not to announce new completion dates. However, they have now announced that the new terminal will finally open on 9th February 2025.
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The newly built terminal is spread across 23,000 square meters and can accommodate up to 2,800 passengers at any given time. It features seven boarding gate, four of which are aerobridge gates, 20 check-in counters, 5 conveyer belts in arrivals, a lounge each in departures and arrivals, 12 immigration counters for departures and 16 for arrivals, two customs counters, Food&Beverage shops, two baby care rooms and three smoking rooms.
International flights soon?
Hirasar International Airport was expected to have international flights by now. The airport serves Rajkot and also the neighbouring cities of Jamnagar, Morbi, Porbandar, Dwarka and Junagadh. While Jamnagar does have a daily service to Mumbai by Air India, the increased options from Rajkot are a plus.
Digesh Bohra, Airport Director of Hirasar International Airport, said that they have already “initiated the procedures for customs and immigration counters”. Does this indicate that international flights from the airport can start soon? It all remains to be seen but the chances are very slim, according to me.
It was expected that the new airport would help in lifting the passenger numbers but it hasn’t happened, at least until now. While IndiGo has added flights to Pune and Hyderabad from the city, the passenger numbers don’t reflect that.
If the state government decides to provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) just as the Odisha government has done for Bhubaneswar-Dubai flight, some possibilities are there.
Will Rajkot Airport receive international flights soon or not remains a question but for now, it’s good to finally see the main terminal open.
Featured image by Airports Authority of India
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