Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Coimbatore International Airport (VOCB) is the primary gateway for the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Airports Authority of India in the Peelamedu district. For a simulator pilot it offers a long single ILS-equipped runway, a mix of domestic and international jet traffic, and a long aviation heritage dating back to 1940.
Coimbatore International Airport serves the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu and sits in the Peelamedu neighbourhood, roughly 10 km from the city centre. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India and is the second-busiest airport in the state by passengers, movements and freight after Chennai. For a visiting VFR or IFR pilot it is a compact single-runway field with a long history as a civil aerodrome, now handling scheduled domestic and international jet services alongside general aviation training.
The airport lies in Peelamedu, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, about 10 km from the city centre and close to the Avinashi Road corridor. It sits at coordinates 11.0269 N, 77.0418 E at an elevation of 1302 ft.
The airport has a single physical runway, 05/23, measuring 9790 ft and surfaced in hard asphalt. Both thresholds are lit, and runway 23 is equipped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) for instrument approaches.
Approach control is available on 120.05 MHz, active after 0430 UTC. The ATIS broadcasts on 128.05 MHz, and the tower operates on 118.15 MHz. Runway 23 offers an ILS approach.
The airport was established in 1940 as a civil aerodrome, then known as Peelamedu aerodrome. In 1948 Air India operated scheduled services on the Madras-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Cochin-Thiruvananthapuram route six times a week. The Coimbatore Flying Club and aviation training academy was established in 1960, and the airfield underwent development and extension through the 1960s. In 1987 the airport was modernised with further runway expansion to handle larger jet aircraft, and in 1990 it was developed to enable night landings. The runway was later extended from 2,590 m to 2,990 m in 2008 to accommodate larger aircraft, alongside the addition of parking bays, aerobridges and an Instrument Landing System. On 6 June 2012 the Indian prime minister announced the intention to upgrade the airport to international status, which the union cabinet granted on 2 October 2012. A serious accident occurred on 13 December 1950, when an Air India Douglas DC-3 (VT-CFK) flying from Bombay to Coimbatore crashed into high ground near Kotagiri due to a navigational error, killing all 21 on board.
The airport today handles scheduled domestic and international jet services from four carriers, connecting thirteen domestic and three international destinations, alongside cargo operations. It retains two hangars, one housing aircraft of the Coimbatore Flying Club and the other used by private carriers, reflecting its continuing role in pilot training as well as commercial aviation.