Trivandrum International Airport (IATA: TRV, ICAO: VOTV) is an international airport established in 1932, which primarily serves the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It is the first airport in the state of Kerala. It is the fifth international airport of India officially declared by then Prime Minister of India, V. P. Singh in 1991.[4]
It is the second busiest airport in Kerala after Kochi and the fourteenth busiest in India. In fiscal year 2018-19, the airport handled more than 4.4 million passengers[5] with a total of 33,093 aircraft movements.[6] Spread over an area of 700 acres (280 ha), the airport is approximately 3.7 km (2.3 mi) due west from the city centre,[4]16 km (9.9 mi) from Kovalam beach, 13 km (8.1 mi) from Technopark and 21 km (13 mi) from the under construction Vizhinjam International Seaport.
Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic flight operations (except Air India) and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India.[7]
In addition to civil operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Coast Guard for their operations. IAF have an exclusive apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out pilot training activities.[8]
Trivandrum International Airport hosts Air India's Narrow body Maintenance, repair and overhaul unit — MRO consisting of twin hangars for servicing Boeing 737 type aircraft, servicing mostly Air India Express aircraft.
The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Raja Goda Varman, Consort of Rani Karthika Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, Rani of Attingal and of Travancore Kingdom.[9] Raja Goda Varman, a trained pilot, felt the need of an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India and requested the Travancore Durbar to initiate the process for establishing an aerodrome. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard. It may be mentioned that the King was the brother of Colonel Raja's wife, and the colonel's own children were the heirs to the throne.
In 1935, on royal patronage of H.H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH.83 Fox Moth aircraft under command of India's first pilot Nevill Vintcent carrying Jamshed Navoroji, a Tata company official, and Kanchi Dwarakadas, commercial agent of Travancore in Karachi, with a special mail from the Viceroy of British India, Lord Willingdon, wishing birthday greetings to the Maharaja.[10]
The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal (Travancore Post) to Bombay. In 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharaja's private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force (Travancore) for protection of the state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for domestic flights with the construction of a domestic terminal: T1.
International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707. By early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines (then Air Lanka) and Air Maldives (now Maldivian started operations. Followed by Indian Airlines, that started a service to Sharjah. On 1 January 1991, TIA was upgraded to an international airport, making it the fifth international airport of India after Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai & Kolkata.
On 1 March 2011, the first flight operated from the new international terminal. IX 536 (Air India Express) from Sharjah marked the first arrival. Air India Express operated the first departure to Dubai from this new terminal. IndianOil Skytanking is the company which introduced single man refuelling in India and started refuelling operations at Trivandrum in March 2016.
There are two terminals. Terminal 1 is for domestic flights (except Air India), and Terminal 2 is for all international flights as well as all domestic flights of Air India.[11] The domestic terminal has an area of 9,200 m2 (99,000 sq ft) and can handle 400 passengers at a time. The Terminal 3 (NITB: New International Terminal Building) and the International Terminal can handle 1,600 passengers at a time.[12]
The international terminal ground operations are handled by Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd. and Bhadra International India Pvt. Ltd. It is fully air-conditioned with wi-fi facility. The terminal features spacious lounges, natural lighting with extensive use of glass roofing and better conveyance facilities for passengers. It has three baggage carousels and elaborate immigration/customs facilities. Flemingo, India's first privately owned duty-free operator is managing the duty-free shop at the international terminal.
