Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Terminal (IATA: GWL, ICAO: VIGR), also known as Gwalior Airport, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in Maharajpur, 10 km (6 mi) north-east of the Gwalior. It is one of the five airports in Madhya Pradesh. The airport is named after Vijaya Raje Scindia, former prominent Member of Parliament and Maharani Of Gwalior belonging to the Scindia dynasty of the Maratha Empire. It is the largest airport of Madhya Pradesh in terms of size and only airport in Central India which has two runways.

Quick Facts Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Airport, Summary ...

Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Airport
IATA: GWL ICAO: VIGR
Summary
Airport type	Military & Public
Owner	Indian Air Force
Operator	Indian Air Force & Airports Authority of India
Serves	Gwalior
Location	Maharajpur, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Opened	1940; 84 years ago (1940)[1]
Time zone	Indian Standard Time (+5:30)
Elevation AMSL	617 ft / 188 m
Coordinates	26°17′36″N 078°13′40″E
Website	Gwalior Airport
Map
GWL Show map of Madhya Pradesh GWL Show map of India
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06L/24R 9,000 2,743 Asphalt 06R/24L 9,000 2,743 Asphalt
Statistics (April 2023 – March 2024)
Passengers 275,397 ( 26.2%) Aircraft movements 3,670 ( 7.2%) Cargo tonnage 10 ( 86.4%)
Source: AAI[2][3][4]

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The airport is spread over 760.7 acres (307.8 hectares). The terminal building is spread over 20,000 m² (220,000 sq ft), completed in 16 months and can handle 1,400 peak hour passengers, which is 3 times more than the old terminal building, and ancillary buildings, car parking, city-side development and other associated works at the airport. The construction of the new apron and the taxiways including associated works for parking of 13 narrowbody or small aircraft at the airport and there are some modern technologies, such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy will be used in the development of the new terminal building, by the commissioning of a new 2.5 GW solar power plant. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has taken up the work for expansion of the airport. The airport is the only air force base in India with two operational parallel runways.

During the outbreak of World War I in 1942, the Royal Air Force (RAF) built this airport as a training base for pilots, and it also played an important role in the war effort, contributing to the Allied victory. When the war ended in 1947, it was transferred to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which also coincided with India’s independence. Indian Air Force IAS continues to operate a base at the airport, contributing to national security. Civil Aviation was opened in 1958, marking the beginning of new commercial connectivity for Gwalior airport. The airport’s first commercial flight was an Indian Airlines Douglas DC3 from Delhi ^[5]

The second runway was built in February 2009 and became operational in October 2010. airport’s infrastructure and facilities were upgraded during the 2000s. Recent changes include the construction of a new and larger terminal building at Gwalior airport, as well as the addition of some modern amenities is completed.

• On May 6, 2021, a Beechcraft 250 belonging to the state of Madhya Pradesh crashed while landing at the airport. The three crew were hospitalized with minor injuries. The aircraft was carrying Remdesivir injections, which were undamaged.^[13]