Banasthali Airstrip, Banasthali: Terminal, Code, Location, Connectivity and Amenities

Banasthali Vidyapith is a unique institution — one of India’s few residential universities exclusively for women, established in 1935 in the rural Tonk district of Rajasthan by freedom fighter Hiralal Shastri and his wife Ratan Shastri in memory of their daughter Shanta. From that founding, the university grew into a full-fledged degree-granting institution offering programmes from arts to engineering to aviation science. Its aviation wing — the Banasthali Vidyapith Gliding and Flying Club (BVGFC) — has been operating since the early 1960s and holds the notable distinction of being the first organisation in India to offer helicopter training after independence. The Banasthali Airstrip, located on the university campus in Tonk district, carries no IATA code and no ICAO code (the pilot reference IN-0101 appears in some navigation databases under “Vanasthali Airport”). It is a DGCA-approved flying training aerodrome with a single runway, a 9,000-square-foot hangar, and a fleet of Cessna and Hansa aircraft. No scheduled commercial passenger flights operate here — this is entirely an aviation education facility.

Quick Overview: Banasthali Airstrip

Banasthali Airstrip Location: Rural Tonk’s Aviation Education Campus

Banasthali Airstrip is located on the campus of Banasthali Vidyapith, in Tonk district of Rajasthan, approximately 47 kilometres southeast of Jaipur. The approximate coordinates are 26°24′N, 75°52′E — open, flat Rajasthan plateau terrain typical of the region between the Aravalli foothills and the Chambal basin. The runway is oriented 10/28, running roughly east-northeast to west-southwest across the university’s expansive campus.

Banasthali Vidyapith’s campus is one of the largest of any women’s university in India — covering thousands of acres in a self-contained rural setting. This scale is both the university’s distinctive identity and the practical reason the airstrip exists: a campus of this size in a rural setting has the land for an airstrip, and a university committed to offering women education across every discipline naturally extended that to aviation.

The nearest commercial airport is Jaipur International Airport (JAI) at approximately 47 km — the nearest weather reference station for pilots at Banasthali. Kishangarh Airport (KQH) serving Ajmer is approximately 60 to 65 km south. Kota Airport is approximately 130 km southeast.

Banasthali Airstrip Code: No IATA, No ICAO

Banasthali Airstrip has no assigned IATA code and no assigned ICAO code. The pilot navigation database at metar-taf.com uses the informal reference IN-0101 under the name “Vanasthali Airport” — a variant spelling of Banasthali — as a positional identifier. No METAR weather data is published from the airstrip. No navigational aids are recorded in the vicinity. The Flight Information Region is Delhi FIR.

Banasthali Airstrip Terminal: India’s Pioneering Women’s Aviation Training Facility

The Banasthali Vidyapith Gliding and Flying Club’s history in Indian aviation is longer than its formal establishment date suggests. Aviation activities at Banasthali began in the early 1960s, and the club became the first institution in India to offer helicopter training after independence — a landmark that reflects the university’s ambition to give women access to every professional domain, including those where women faced the highest social barriers.

BVGFC was formally registered on 9 January 2009 and received DGCA approval as a Flying Training Organisation. The aerodrome on the campus has a DGCA-licensed airstrip with a runway designated 10/28. The 9,000-square-foot hangar can accommodate more than a dozen aircraft simultaneously — a substantial training facility for a university-based flying club.

The current fleet includes the Cessna 172 Skyhawk (VT-BSB) — a four-seat single-engine trainer, the most widely used training aircraft globally; the Cessna 152 (VT-BSD) and Cessna 152A (VT-BSC) — two-seat trainers ideal for basic flight instruction; the Hansa-3 (VT-HNX) — a Czech-made composite two-seat aircraft designed for flight training; and Robinson R44 helicopters on lease, supporting helicopter pilot training. This mix of fixed-wing trainers and rotary aircraft gives BVGFC a breadth of training capability unusual among university-based flying clubs.

Programmes offered include the Private Pilot Licence (PPL) for recreational flyers, the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) for aspiring professional pilots (requiring 200 hours of practical flying), and instructor-level training. A Bachelor of Science in Aviation Science is also offered — integrating ground theory with practical flight training in a degree programme. DGCA’s standard ICAO Level 4 English proficiency requirement applies to all students.

Since Banasthali Vidyapith is a women’s university, its BVGFC offers something genuinely unique in Indian aviation: a DGCA-approved CPL programme exclusively for women in a structured residential campus environment. This has produced a stream of women commercial pilots entering the Indian aviation industry — a meaningful contribution to the sector’s gender diversification.

Banasthali Airstrip Connectivity: Flying School Only, No Commercial Flights

By Air: No scheduled commercial passenger flights operate from Banasthali Airstrip. All operations are BVGFC training flights — solo training circuits, cross-country navigation exercises, and helicopter training sorties. The nearest commercial aviation is Jaipur International Airport (JAI) at approximately 47 km.

By Road: Banasthali Vidyapith campus is on the Jaipur-Tonk State Highway, approximately 47 km southeast of Jaipur and approximately 45 km north of Tonk city. RSRTC and private buses serve the Jaipur-Tonk corridor, with stops near or at the Banasthali Vidyapith gate. Taxis from Jaipur reach the campus in approximately 1 to 1.5 hours.

By Rail: Bandikui Railway Station on the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad main line of Western Railway is approximately 45 km east, connecting to Jaipur (approximately 1 hour) and Delhi (approximately 4 hours). Tonk does not have a significant railway connection of its own.

Banasthali Airstrip Amenities: Professional Flying Club Infrastructure

The BVGFC facility includes the DGCA-licensed airstrip, the 9,000-square-foot hangar, ground classroom facilities for theory instruction (air navigation, meteorology, aviation regulations, aircraft technical knowledge), and administrative support for student pilot records and DGCA documentation. Basic aviation operational amenities — fuel, aircraft maintenance, pre-flight briefing areas — are in place. The university campus surrounds the airstrip with all the amenities of a large residential institution: hostels, canteen, library, and medical facilities.

FAQs: Banasthali Airstrip

Q1. Does Banasthali Airstrip have an IATA or ICAO code?

No. Banasthali Airstrip has no assigned IATA code and no ICAO code. The informal pilot reference IN-0101 is used in some navigation databases. No scheduled commercial operations exist.

Q2. What makes Banasthali Airstrip historically significant?

The Banasthali Vidyapith Gliding and Flying Club is the first organisation in India to have offered helicopter training after independence — a distinction earned decades before most flying schools introduced rotary-wing programmes. The club has trained women pilots since the early 1960s.

Q3. What flying programmes does BVGFC offer?

PPL (Private Pilot Licence), CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence requiring 200 flying hours), Instructor rating, and a BSc in Aviation Science. Robinson R44 helicopter training is also available. All programmes are DGCA-approved.

Q4. Who can train at Banasthali Vidyapith Flying Club?

As part of Banasthali Vidyapith — a women’s university — BVGFC primarily trains women pilots. Applicants must be at least 16, hold a valid DGCA Class 1 Medical Certificate, and meet ICAO Level 4 English proficiency.

Q5. What is the nearest commercial airport to Banasthali?

Jaipur International Airport (JAI) at approximately 47 km northwest is the nearest commercial airport, with IndiGo, Air India, and other carriers connecting Jaipur to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and international destinations.