| Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Airport | |
| Iata: | GWL |
| Icao: | VIGR |
| Pushpin Map: | India Madhya Pradesh#India |
| Pushpin Label: | GWL |
| Type: | Military & Public |
| Owner: | Indian Air Force |
| Operator: | Indian Air Force & Airports Authority of India |
| City-Served: | Gwalior |
| Location: | Maharajpur, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Opened: | [1] |
| Elevation-F: | 617 |
| Elevation-M: | 188 |
| Coordinates: | 26.2933°N 78.2278°W |
| Timezone: | Indian Standard Time |
| Utc: | +5:30 |
| Website: | Gwalior Airport |
| R1-Number: | 06L/24R |
| R1-Length-F: | 9,000 |
| R1-Length-M: | 2,743 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 06R/24L |
| R2-Length-F: | 9,000 |
| R2-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Stat-Year: | April 2023 – March 2024 |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 275,397 (26.2%) |
| Stat2-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat2-Data: | 3,670 (7.2%) |
| Stat3-Header: | Cargo tonnage |
| Stat3-Data: | 10 (86.4%) |
| Footnotes: | Source: AAI[2] [3] [4] |
Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Terminal, 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 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.
The airport is spread over 760.7 acres (307.8 hectares). The terminal building is spread over, 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.