Best airport in the world hyderabad
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00:00Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is India's largest airport in terms of area, which is spread across 5,500 acres.
00:06This is the country's 4th busiest airport with more than 2 crore passengers annually.
00:10It took around Rs 2,500 crore to build this airport.
00:13And now it has become one of the fastest growing airports in the country.
00:16Still, it comes first in terms of punctuality.
00:18Not only in India, but it is also considered to be the second best airport in the world by Serum Aviation Analytics.
00:24Looking at the increasing growth, there are proposals to build a new terminal and runway.
00:28It took years to reach here, which we will have to go back a little in the early 1930s, when Hyderabad's first airport was built, Begumpet Airstrip.
00:37It was built by the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan, in the outskirts of Hyderabad, Begumpet.
00:43From here, Nizam's government-related services were operated, including military and VIP aircraft.
00:48At the same time, an air force station was built in Hakimpet, only 12 km away, where the Royal Air Force began its military operations.
00:55Apart from this, a Hyderabad State Aeroclub was also built in Hapsiguram for Nizam's personal aircraft.
01:00But due to being in a very small area, Nizam shifted his club to Begumpet.
01:05After this, Begumpet continued to handle only VIPs and military operations for a few years.
01:09But as soon as World War II began, the Royal Air Force took control of the Aeroclub and made it a flying school.
01:15The Air Force needed more pilots for the war, who needed space for training, so Begumpet came in handy here.
01:22Fighter jets also operated from here, especially in the Asia-Pacific theater of the war.
01:26This airport also served to repair weapons transport and aircraft.
01:30After the victory of the Allies in the war, the Air Force reduced its operations and Begumpet was opened for commercial flights.
01:36In 1946, Deccan Airways started its first service from Hyderabad to Bangalore.
01:41Deccan Airways was a joint venture between the Nizam government of Hyderabad and Tata Airlines.
01:46In the next few years, the company started services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
01:51After independence and the liberation of Hyderabad, Deccan Airways was taken over by the Indian government and nationalized in 1953.
01:58It was merged with airlines such as Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways and Air Services of India and Indian Airlines were created.
02:08Earlier, Begumpet Airport only handled domestic services, but in 1946, the first international flight from here also started to Saudi Arabia.
02:17From 1950, all the commercial flights were shifted to Begumpet from Hakeempet Aerodrome, because more space was available here and it was easier to operate the aircraft.
02:27Hakeempet Aerodrome was used only for military and training purposes.
02:31Due to this, the hustle and bustle of Begumpet Airport began to increase and the runway and terminal were expanded.
02:36In the 1960s, new routes were added to Bombay, Delhi, Madras and Cochin.
02:40Fokker F-27 aircraft was also used, which carried about 32 passengers.
02:45Looking at the increasing number of passengers, another terminal was built in 1972.
02:49The old terminal was used for domestic operations and the new terminal was used for international operations.
02:54Due to the new international passengers, there was a shortage of space in the airport again.
02:58There was also less space to park on the apron when the size of the aircraft began to increase.
03:02In the 1980s, Begumpet handled more than 3 lakh passengers and operated flights to about 10 cities regularly.
03:09In the 1990s, there was no space left to expand the airport, so Hyderabad needed a new and bigger airport.
03:15The city around the airport was spread out, which was previously a suburb.
03:19Thousands of people had to be displaced for expansion.
03:21Also, as the information technology and pharmaceutical industry was growing in the city, the airport began to become very congested.
03:27That's why the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, asked Hakeempet Air Force Station for civilian use.
03:33But the Indian Air Force refused him because according to them, if the Air Force Station was opened for civilian use, it would become a security concern.
03:41In addition, the Air Force would have to face difficulties in operating its flights and training.
03:46So Begumpet Airport was already operating at its capacity, with only one runway, 0927, which was 3230 meters long.
03:53By 2008, 10 domestic and 13 international airlines operated from here.
03:5760 lakh passengers used it every year, making it the 6th busiest airport in the country.
04:02Seeing this growth, the need to build a new airport began to arise.
04:06Actually, its planning had started in the 1990s, but its speed increased a lot by the late 1990s.
04:12By 1998, the state shortlisted three locations to build the airport, Bangalore, Nadargul and Shamshabad.
04:18After a lot of discussion, finally Shamshabad was chosen because this location was more easily accessible to people.
04:24Two national highways NH-44 and NH-765 pass by and a railway station is only 6 km away.
04:32In November 2000, the State Government and Airport Authority of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding
04:37for Greenfield Airport and established a public-private partnership,
04:40in which the share of the state and AAI would be 26% and 74% share of private companies.
04:46Then, through bidding, a consortium was formed of Gandhi, Malik Arjun Rao Group, GMR Group and Malaysia Airports Holding, Bihar.
04:52And they got 74% stake of this airport, of which 63% was of GMR Group and 11% of Malaysia Airports Holding.
04:59All together, a special purpose entity was formed, Hyderabad International Airport Limited, HIAL, to manage this airport.
05:05And in 2002, its name was changed to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, GHIAL.
05:10For the airport to run well and remain profitable, in 2004, GHIAL and the Central Government signed an agreement.
05:18The right to manage and operate this airport would remain with the consortium for 30 years,
05:22which was extended for another 30 years, now till March 22, 2068.
05:26Another point in the agreement was that no other airport would be able to operate within a radius of 150 km of Hyderabad Airport.
05:31Due to this, Begump Airport, which was Hyderabad's first airport, had to be shut down.
05:35Now, this airport is used only for military, government and general aviation.
05:38Finally, the construction of Hyderabad's new airport began in March 2005,
05:42which was named Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
05:45Three years later, on March 14, 2008, it was being inaugurated,
05:49during which some protests began.
05:52AIK employees were protesting because the old Begumpet airport was being shut down due to the operation of the new airport,
05:58so they were worried about their employment.
06:00Also, due to the high ground handling rate, airlines were also refusing to operate from the new airport.
06:05That's why its first commercial flight was skipped due to protests for a week,
06:09until the ground handling rate was reduced.
06:11The first domestic flight, Spicejet's SG397 landed from Ahmedabad,
06:15and the second from SG393 Mumbai.
06:18After this, the first international flight, Lufthansa's LH753 also landed,
06:22which was coming from Frankfurt.
06:23And due to this, Hyderabad's new airport successfully handled two domestic and one international flights
06:28in the first hour of its operation.
06:30It got Begumpet's IATA code HYD.
06:33The IATA code is given by the International Air Transport Association.
06:37This is a 3-letter GEO code, which is given to the airport according to its location,
06:41like Delhi IGI's DEL, Mumbai CSMI's BOM, and Bangalore KIA's BLA.
06:47Every airport has a unique IATA code.
06:49There are two main reasons to keep it unique.
06:51First, instead of the full name of the airport,
06:53it is more convenient to use a 3-letter word to manage airport services.
06:59Like in aviation, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad,
07:02can be easily identified by using HYD instead of saying Pura.
07:08Especially in air traffic control, when pilots are talking to the controller,
07:11they follow a lot of protocols and use a short form for everything,
07:15which can make operations more efficient.
07:17This is also necessary in stressful situations,
07:19when only a few controllers are handling a lot of flights.
07:22Having multiple airports in the same city can also be easily identified.
07:26In that too, it becomes important to assign unique IATA codes.
07:29For example, London's Heathrow Airport's code is LHR,
07:32Gatwick's is LGW, and City Airport's is LCY.
07:35Let's come back to RJ Airport.
07:37It is spread over 5,500 acres,
07:39and has only 2,000 acres of airport,
07:41for 1,700 airside and 300 landside.
07:43The remaining 3,500 acres of land has been kept for future expansions,
07:47in which two more runways can be built if needed.
07:50Currently, this airport has two active runways.
07:52One is 0927L, 4.2 km long,
07:55and the other is 0927R, 3.7 km long.
07:58The runway is so big that the world's largest passenger aircraft,
08:01Airbus A380, can also land here.
08:04The first runway opened in 2008,
08:06and the second one, 0927R, opened in 2012.
08:08During the inauguration,
08:10it became the first international airport of South India,
08:12where there were two parallel runways.
08:14The second runway is only used
08:16when there is a lot of traffic at the airport,
08:18or there is some maintenance on the primary runway.
08:20In 2011, SpiceJet made RJ Airport
08:22their regional hub
08:24due to its convenient location,
08:26and from here they started operating
08:28their new Bombardier Q400 aircraft.
08:30In 2015, when traffic increased rapidly,
08:32the second phase was also started,
08:34where the first terminal of the airport,
08:36which was opened in 2008,
08:38could only handle 1.2 crore passengers.
08:40When this terminal was expanded in November 2023,
08:42its passenger capacity increased
08:44to 3.4 crore passengers per year.
08:46Its area has also increased more than double.
08:48Earlier, it was 1.17 lakh square meters,
08:50now it is 2.7 lakh square meters.
08:52Currently, only one terminal is active,
08:54which handles western side international flights,
08:56and eastern side domestic flights.
08:58Apart from the passenger terminal,
09:01there are three parking aprons,
09:03a cargo terminal,
09:05and a maintenance repair and operations apron.
09:07Today, RJI Airport operates a total of 85 domestic
09:09and international destinations.
09:11It has the most flights for Delhi,
09:13with 164 weekly flights,
09:15which makes up 10% of the traffic here.
09:17Dubai and Muscat are top international destinations,
09:19and the longest flight is to London,
09:21which is 10 hours and 50 minutes long.
09:2330 airlines operate,
09:25of which Indigo Airlines is the largest.
09:27In 2008, Indigo first started operations
09:29in Hyderabad.
09:31Today, it operates more than 4,400 flights per month.
09:33Air India, which comes second,
09:35handles only 400 flights per month,
09:37which is less than 11 times that of Indigo.
09:39Big aircrafts like Boeing 777,
09:41Airbus A350, and Airbus A330
09:43also operate regularly from here.
09:45It is one of the busiest cargo terminals
09:47in South India.
09:49It is spread over 14,300 square meters.
09:51In 2022, with 1.4 lakh tons,
09:53it became the country's fifth largest cargo
09:55transport airport.
09:57It is operated by Hyderabad Menzies Air Cargo
09:59Private Limited,
10:01which is a joint venture between
10:03GHIEL and Menzies Aviation.
10:05Menzies Aviation is a UK company
10:07that provides worldwide aircraft
10:09ground handling services and cargo services.
10:11It was founded 191 years ago,
10:13in 1883,
10:15by a bookseller in Scotland, John Menzies.
10:17One of the features of its cargo terminal
10:19is that a pharma zone has been built here,
10:21which is a temperature-controlled facility
10:23for the transport of pharmaceuticals.
10:26This is the first such facility in the country.
10:28It is so important because
10:3070% of pharmaceutical exports are from here.
10:32Hyderabad is also called the bulk drug capital
10:34of India and the vaccine capital of the world
10:36because 40% of the country's bulk drug
10:38is produced here.
10:40To increase this,
10:42a pharma city was also being built in Hyderabad.
10:44Now, due to environmental reasons,
10:4610 pharma villages will be built
10:48instead of a pharma city.
10:50Three greenfield pharma villages
10:52will be built in Nalkonda, Vikrabad
10:54and Hyderabad.
10:56The government plans to spread
10:58this pharma industry throughout the state
11:00so that it can fulfill the increasing demand
11:02of pharmaceuticals.
11:04Hyderabad airport will also play a crucial role
11:06in this.
11:08To operate the airport,
11:10GHIEL had built a 5 MW solar power plant
11:12in the airport area in 2015.
11:14It is spread over 45 acres of land
11:16and cost Rs 30 crores to build it.
11:18Now, its capacity has increased to 10 MW
11:20saving Rs 10 crores from electricity bills.
11:22GHIEL will start operating with solar energy
11:24when new panels will be added
11:26like today's Cochin airport
11:28which is India's and world's first airport
11:30that has 100% solar energy.
11:32It was achieved in 2015
11:34for which Cochin airport received
11:36the Champions of the Earth award from the UN in 2018.
11:38The location of RGI airport is quite accessible
11:40due to NH44, NH765
11:42and outer ring road.
11:44Metro does not reach the airport yet
11:46but plans to expand it in the future.
11:48A 31 km long line
11:51was being built from Rayadurg to the airport
11:53for Rs 6250 crores.
11:55Construction started in December 2022
11:57but it was scrapped due to state government change.
11:59Now, multiple expansions will be built
12:0170 km long
12:03which will go to the airport
12:05and connect the city from all sides.
12:07According to this, the first green line
12:09will be extended from MG bus station
12:11to Falaknuma by 5.5 km
12:13then 1.5 km ahead to Chandrayaan Ghatta
12:15blue line will extend from Nagole
12:17to LB Nagar and Chandrayaan Ghatta
12:19which will go to the airport by 29 km.
12:21It is still in the planning stages
12:23and has not been finalized yet.
12:25But it is clear that the airport
12:27will be connected to the metro
12:29even if it takes some more time.
12:31There is a Umda Nagar railway station
12:336 km away from the airport
12:35from where passengers can commute easily.
12:37One of the major problems of Hyderabad's
12:39old Begumpet airport was fog.
12:41Due to bad weather, many flights
12:43were delayed and cancelled regularly.
12:45This has been fixed in the new airport
12:47by installing an instrument landing system.
12:49Now it can easily handle flights
12:51in bad weather and fog at night.
12:53ILS is based on a radio navigation system
12:55which uses two directional radio signals
12:57to provide short-range guidance
12:59to the aircraft during landing.
13:01These two signals are localizer
13:03and glide slope
13:05which are mostly transmitted
13:07near the runway.
13:09Localizer, which has a frequency
13:11of 108 to 112 MHz,
13:13gives horizontal guidance to the aircraft
13:15while glide slope
13:17which has a frequency
13:19of 329 to 335 MHz
13:21gives vertical guidance
13:23to the aircraft
13:25to maintain a smooth descent.
13:27With the help of ILS,
13:29aircraft can be approached
13:31from a distance of 800 m
13:33and 61 m from the ground
13:35after which the pilot should be able
13:37to see the runway.
13:39While landing,
13:41the pilot gets all this info
13:43from the runway
13:45which he has to follow
13:47to land the aircraft.
13:49ILS has started using
13:51almost all international
13:53and domestic airports.
13:55Prior to ILS,
13:57some other radio-based landing systems
13:59have been used for a long time.
14:01For example, in the 1930s,
14:03Lorenz beam was used
14:05in many European air bases
14:07which was a single radio system
14:09with horizontal guidance
14:11and SCS-51 system
14:13which was improved
14:15to provide vertical guidance.
14:17Many upgrades have been made
14:19over the years
14:21like radar-based ground control
14:23approach system, microwave landing system
14:25and satellite-based wide area
14:27augmentation systems
14:29and localizer performance
14:31with vertical guidance system.
14:33These satellite-based systems
14:35can be easily installed
14:37and operated at airports.
14:39It is expected that
14:41LPV will get more preference
14:43than ILS in the future.
14:45However, ILS precision system
14:47is still installed at most airports
14:49and it has not been changed
14:51because ILS is still trusted
14:53and working with good accuracy.
14:55Apart from Hyderabad's RGI airport,
14:57there are many other airports
14:59like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
15:01Hyderabad airport was India's
15:03first airport where e-boarding
15:05facilities were used
15:07for domestic flights
15:09and international passengers.
15:11This is a positive point
15:13because it saves passengers
15:15time in check-in
15:17and instead of printing boarding pass
15:19at the counter,
15:21passengers can scan it
15:23using QR code.
15:25Apart from this,
15:27smart trolleys have been deployed
15:29where passengers can scan
15:31their boarding pass
15:33and get all the details
15:35which will be very helpful
15:37for those who are visiting Hyderabad
15:39for the first time.
15:41RGI airport is India's
15:43fourth busiest airport
15:45after Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
15:47In 2022, more than 2 crore people
15:49visited this airport
15:51which was 69% more than last year.
15:53It is being expanded
15:55by GMR group
15:57which has already invested
15:596,300 crore rupees.
16:01There are only 2 active runways
16:03which are being proposed.
16:05In terms of performance,
16:07this airport has always been
16:09at the top with 84.42% punctuality.
16:11This is the second most punctual
16:13airport in the world
16:15according to Serum Aviation Analytics.
16:17Apart from this, in 2023,
16:19Airports Council International
16:21awarded this airport
16:23with Best Airport Service Quality
16:25award in Asia-Pacific region.
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