About Cochin Airport
Cochin International Airport (IATA: COK, ICAO: VOCI) is an international
airport situated in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India.
Located at Nedumbassery, about 28 km (19 mi) northeast of Kochi, it is the
busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala.
For the financial year 2014-15, it is the Third busiest airport in India in
terms of international passenger traffic after Delhi and Mumbai ferrying
over 3,751,225 passengers and seventh busiest airport in India carrying
6,814,867 passengers. The airport is a primary base for Air India Express
operations and is a focus city for Air Asia India, Air India, Indigo, Jet
Airways and SpiceJet.
Cochin International Airport is the first in India developed under a
public-private partnership (PPP) model. The original proposal for the
airport outlined an estimated cost of 100 crore (US$16 million) and an
expected date of commission in 1997. Approval was granted in May 1993. The
funding was envisaged to be from interest-free loans from non-resident
Indians working abroad, donations from industrial undertakings, exporters,
cooperative societies and loans from the state government.
A body called the Cochin International Airport Society, under the
chairmanship of the chief minister of Kerala, was registered in July 1993 to
execute the project. To better fund mobilisation, as well as administrative
convenience, a public limited company under the name Cochin International
Airport Ltd. (CIAL) was registered in March 1994 with an authorised capital
of 90 crore (US$14 million).
A total of 3,500 acres (14,000,000 m2) acres of land was acquired for the
construction of the airport. Approximately 2,300 landowners and 872 families
were resettled under a rehabilitation package. Major electric lines and an
irrigation canal had to be diverted. The facility was formally inaugurated
by the then President of India, KR Narayanan on 25 May 1999, and the first
commercial service began on 10 June 1999. The operations from the old naval
airport were moved to CIAL on 1 July 1999.
Terminal
Cochin International Airport has three terminals; one is for domestic
passengers and another for international passengers. There is a cargo
terminal spread over an area of 3,500 acres (1,400 ha).
Domestic
The domestic terminal has an area of 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft) and is
designed to handle up to 400 passengers at peak times. The departure hall
has 26 common use terminal equipment (CUTE) enabled check-in counters,
including 6 premium check-in counters, 4 self check in counters. It has 6
security gates and a common waiting area that can accommodate 400 passengers
at a time. There is also a family lounge and a premium lounge for business
class passengers, and a food court is housed in the waiting area, while a
restaurant operates in entry lobby. There are 4 remote gates facility
available for domestic passengers. The arrivals hall has 2 baggage
carousels.
International
The international terminal covers an area of 44,400 m2 (478,000 sq ft) with
two buildings for departures and arrivals connected inside with a corridor.
The departure and arrival halls of the international terminal are designed
to accommodate 1800 people each at any time. The departure hall has 42 CUTE
enabled check-in counters, including 10 premium check-in counters.
CIAL is the fifth airport in India to install advanced in-line baggage
screening systems, replacing conventional x-ray based manual screening. It
has 36 passport control counters, 12 security gates and 12 customs counters.
There are four premium lounges for first class and business class
passengers. There are 10 gates and 5 jetways. The arrival hall has 24
passport control counters and 4 baggage carousels.
New International Terminal
On 8 September 2012, the director board of CIAL approved the design of the
new international terminal which will cost INR 6 billion (US$94 million). It
will have two levels, the ground level for arrivals and the top level for
departures. It will be able to handle 12 million passengers annually and
4000 passengers during peak hours. It will have 15 aerobridges with a floor
area of 140,000 m2 (1,500,000 sq ft). The terminal is expected to manage
passenger traffic till 2030.
Once the new terminal is ready, the old international terminal will become a
domestic terminal. The existing domestic terminal will serve business jets
only.
The Foundation Stone for the new terminal was laid on 2 February 2014 and is
expected to be ready in 30 months.
Cargo
Cochin Airport has a dedicated cargo centre on the eastern side of the
complex. The cargo centre is one of the largest facilities in the country
with a total floor space of 120,000 sq ft (11,000 m2) in 50 acres (200,000
m2) of land.
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