Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (VOTV) serves the Kerala state capital from a site close to the Arabian Sea coast, making it the southernmost international aerodrome on the Indian subcontinent. Established in 1932 under royal patronage as part of the Royal Flying Club, it today handles international and domestic traffic alongside a resident Indian Air Force Southern Air Command presence and Coast Guard operations, and offers a single long, ILS-equipped runway well suited to airliners and simulator pilots alike.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport lies on the western edge of the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, and is operated under a long-term concession by TRV (Kerala) International Airport Limited, part of the Adani Group. It is notable as Kerala's first airport and India's fifth international airport, and it doubles as the headquarters of the Indian Air Force's Southern Air Command and a base for Indian Coast Guard operations. The Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology conducts pilot training here, and Air India runs a narrow-body maintenance, repair and overhaul facility on the field, all of which makes it an interesting destination for a simulator pilot beyond its role as a busy commercial gateway.
The airport sits about 3.7 kilometres due west of Thiruvananthapuram city centre and the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, and is close enough to the coast to be regarded as the airport nearest to a body of water in India, lying roughly a kilometre from the Arabian Sea near Shankumugham Beach. It is around 16 kilometres from Kovalam beach and 13 kilometres from Technopark. As the southernmost international and domestic airport in the Indian subcontinent, it forms a prominent VFR and IFR waypoint for traffic along Kerala's southern coastline.
The field has a single physical runway aligned 14/32, hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 32 is published at 10,622 feet and is equipped with an ILS, while runway 14 is published at 9,729 feet; the difference in the two figures reflects declared distances rather than two separate strips. Field elevation is 16 feet.
Area control is available on 125.9 MHz, approach on 119.6 MHz, and the tower on 118.1 MHz. ATIS broadcasts are on 126.6 MHz, and a radio frequency of 1128.5 MHz is also listed for the field. Runway 32 is served by an ILS for instrument approaches.
The proximity of the airport to the Arabian Sea and Shankumugham Beach, only about a kilometre from the runway, makes the coastline a prominent landmark for pilots approaching from the west. Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the Thiruvananthapuram city centre lie close by to the east, and Kovalam beach and Technopark provide further reference points to the south and east respectively when orientating over the local area.
The airport traces its origins to 1932, when it was established as part of the Royal Flying Club at the initiative of Lt. Col. Raja Goda Varma, husband of the Rani of Attingal and Travancore, with the support of Maharaja Chithira Thirunal. Tata Airlines made the field's first commercial flight in November 1935, when a DH.83 Fox Moth flown by Nevill Vintcent carried mail and Tata company representatives from Karachi, including a birthday message from the Viceroy of British India to the Maharaja. In 1938 the Travancore government acquired a Dakota as the Maharaja's private aircraft and stationed the first Royal Indian Air Force squadron at the field for the state's aerial defence. After Indian independence the airstrip continued as a domestic airport with the construction of Terminal 1, and Air India began international services to the Arabian Peninsula using Boeing 707s in the late 1970s, followed by Indian Airlines, Gulf Air, Air Lanka and Air Maldives. On 1 January 1991 the airport was formally upgraded to international status, becoming the fifth such airport in India after Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. A new international terminal, Terminal 2, opened on 1 March 2011, with the first arrival and departure both operated by Air India Express to and from Sharjah and Dubai respectively. In 2018 the Indian government began a competitive process to lease six AAI airports, including Thiruvananthapuram, and in 2021 the Adani Group took over operation, management and development of the airport for a fifty-year concession period.
Thiruvananthapuram continues to operate as a major international and domestic airport, with civil operations sharing the field with the Indian Air Force's Southern Air Command, which maintains an exclusive apron, and with Indian Coast Guard operations. The Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology conducts pilot training activities at the airport, and Air India operates a narrow-body maintenance, repair and overhaul unit with twin hangars, principally servicing Air India Express Boeing 737-type aircraft.