Cochin Airport, Cochin International Airport Terminal 3, Cochin International Airport

Описание: Cochin International Airport, Cochin (IATA: COK, ICAO: VOCI) is an international airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the city, Cochin International Airport is the first airport in India developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. This project was funded by nearly 10,000 non-resident Indians from 30 countries.

It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala.As of 2019, the Cochin International Airport caters to 61.8% of the total air passenger movement in Kerala.It is also the fourth busiest airport in India in terms of international traffic and eighth busiest overall. In fiscal year 2018-19, the airport handled more than 10.2 million passengers with a total of 71,871 aircraft movements. The airport is a primary base for Air India Express operations which is also headquartered in the city.

The airport operates three passenger terminals and one cargo terminal. With over 150,000 square metres (1,614,587 sq ft) in area, the airport's Terminal 3 is one of the largest terminals in India.[citation needed] Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport with the inauguration of a dedicated solar plant. For this entrepreneurial vision, the airport won the coveted Champion of the Earth award in 2018, the highest environmental honour instituted by the United Nations.

The airport began as an airstrip on Willingdon Island, built in 1936 by the British Residency of Kingdom of Kochi, intended for transporting British officials involved in the development of the Cochin Port. The airstrip was converted into a military airport by the Indian Navy during World War II. The Royal Navy chose it as a strategic site for their headquarters in Southern India and as an air station cum landing craft and seaplane base. The military facility hosted naval fighter planes and was intended to thwart possible Japanese air raids.A small naval unit set up operations just two days before the outbreak of World War II.

After Indian Independence, the Indian Navy operated the airport, though it permitted civilian aircraft to use the facility. The Gulf economic boom of the 1980s made it necessary to develop international connections to Kochi in the interests of expatriates working in the Middle East.

Cochin International Airport (CIAL) was opened in 1999 and was the first airport in India developed under a private-public partnership model. The new international terminal T3 with a floor area of 140 000 m2 was opened in 2017.

CIAL is the fourth busiest airport in India for international traffic handling 5.23 million passengers in FY2018 (10.2 m passengers incl. domestic in 2018). 25 airlines serve the airport. In 2015 the airport became the first fully solar-powered airport in the world with a captive 40 MW capacity photovoltaic solar power plant.

T3 is brightly lit and spacious and features a large duty-free shop and other retail outlets, an adequate food court and a large departure concourse. The terminal has five aerobridges.