Bellary Airport
{{Short description|Airport in Bellary, Karnataka, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox airport
| name = Bellary Airport
| image =
| image-width = 250
| IATA = BEP
| ICAO = VOBI
| type = Public
| operator = Airports Authority of India
| city-served = Bellary
| location = Bellary, Karnataka, India
| elevation-f = 1542
| elevation-m = 470
| coordinates = {{coord|15|09|46|N|76|52|54|E|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = India Karnataka#India
| pushpin_label = BEP
| r1-number = 12/30
| r1-length-f = 3,630
| r1-surface = Asphalt
| footnotes = Source: DAFIF{{cite web|url-status=usurped|url=http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?airport=VOBI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305143444/http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?airport=VOBI|archive-date=2019-03-05|title=Airport information for VOBI|website=World Aero Data}} Data current as of October 2006.
}}
Bellary Airport {{airport codes|BEP|VOBI}} is an airport serving Bellary, a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It was once served by Tata Airlines and Vayudoot. Bellary was a part of the first commercial flight of India which was from Karachi to Madras, flown by J.R.D Tata on 15 October 1932. This is the first airport of Karnataka built as early as 1932. However, as of May 2018, the airport is without commercial air service. Jindal Vijaynagar Airport, located about {{convert|36|km}} west of the city, is used instead for this purpose. A new airport for Bellary is being planned as well.
History
Bellary Airport existed as early as 1932, when it figured in an airmail service operated by Tata Airlines (now Air India). The service operated Karachi–Ahmedabad–Mumbai–Bellary–Madras. The British selected Bellary because of its strategic location and the presence of many troops in the city.{{cite news |last=Kaggere |first=Niranjan |date=3 March 2015 |title=Mining through Bellary's aviation history |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/news/state/Mining-through-Bellarys-aviation-history/articleshow/46432611.cms |work=Bangalore Mirror |access-date=21 June 2016}} Afterward, regional carrier Vayudoot operated flights to Bellary.{{cite news |date=28 September 2004 |title=Bangalore-Bellary flights postponed |url=http://www.thehindu.com/2004/09/29/stories/2004092904650300.htm |work=The Hindu |access-date=21 June 2016}}{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
In 2004, the Government of Karnataka decided to permit commercial flights from an airstrip owned by Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Ltd (JVSL) in Toranagallu, {{convert|30|km}} from Bellary. The airstrip would serve Bellary as well as nearby Hampi and Hospet. This decision resulted in protest from some citizens, who felt the airstrip would only benefit JVSL workers and who wanted Bellary Airport to be upgraded instead. The State Government responded by saying there was no space to extend and widen the runway to make it capable of receiving larger aircraft. Between December 2006 and 2009, the JVSL airstrip received flights from Bangalore and Goa by Air Deccan and later Kingfisher Red. There are now plans to build a new airport for Bellary.
In January 2006, the Airports Authority of India announced it would establish a radar station for air traffic control at Bellary Airport.{{cite news |last=Kamila |first=Raviprasad |date=18 January 2006 |title=AAI to set up radar station in Bellary |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/aai-to-set-up-radar-station-in-bellary/article3241175.ece |work=The Hindu |access-date=21 June 2016}} Construction was carried out by the company Indra Sistemas and was completed by September 2011.{{Cite web|title=Indra completa la implantación de cuatro primeras estaciones radar en India|url=https://www.indracompany.com/es/noticia/indra-completa-implantacion-primeras-estaciones-radar-india|language=es|access-date=2020-08-22|website=www.indracompany.com}}
Airfield
See also
- {{portal-inline|Aviation}}
- Jindal Vijaynagar Airport
- New Bellary Airport