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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