Yavatmal is a district in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra — a cotton-growing zone with one of India’s most documented agrarian crises, where farmer suicides driven by crop failures, debt, and input costs have been a recurring concern for four decades. It is also a city of significant commercial activity in the cotton and textile trade, home to engineering colleges and government institutions, and approximately 165 km southeast of Nagpur. Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport — named after the 20th-century social reformer and saint Gadge Baba, who is revered across Vidarbha and Maharashtra for his tireless advocacy for rural sanitation, education, and the abolition of untouchability — sits 9 kilometres east of the city on 113.93 hectares of MIDC land leased to Reliance Airport Developers since 2009. It carries the informal local identifier VA78, holds no formally assigned IATA code and no standard ICAO code. No scheduled commercial passenger flights operate from here as of mid-2026. The airport is used for government aircraft, helicopter movements, and minimal general aviation.
Quick Overview: Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport
| Detail | Information |
| Official Name | Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport |
| Location | ~9 km east of Yavatmal, Maharashtra |
| Airport Type | Public — Non-operational for scheduled commercial flights |
| IATA Code | Not Assigned (VA78 is a local LID; YTL appears in some third-party databases but is not formally assigned) |
| ICAO Code | Not Assigned (IN-0369 used as informal pilot reference) |
| Owner | Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) |
| Operator | Reliance Airport Developers Ltd (leased for 95 years from 30 October 2009) |
| Built | 1998 (MIDC) |
| Lease Area | 113.93 hectares |
| Runway Designation | 08/26 |
| Elevation | 429 m / 1,403 ft AMSL |
| Coordinates | 20°23′47″N, 78°12′30″E |
| Nearest Weather Station | Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur (~116 km northwest) |
| Flight Information Region | Mumbai FIR |
| Scheduled Commercial Flights | None (as of mid-2026) |
| Current Use | Government aircraft; helicopter; general aviation |
Yavatmal Airport Location: East of the Cotton City on the Vidarbha Plateau
Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport is located approximately 9 kilometres east of Yavatmal city, in the flat agricultural terrain of Maharashtra’s eastern Vidarbha zone. The coordinates are 20°23′47″N, 78°12′30″E, at an elevation of 429 metres above sea level. The 113.93-hectare site sits on the Vidarbha plateau where cotton fields dominate the landscape in every direction.
Yavatmal’s geographic position places the airport between two larger aviation hubs: Nagpur Airport (NAG) approximately 165 km northwest, and Nanded Airport (NDC) approximately 200 km southwest. Amravati — where a new airport at Belora commenced commercial operations in April 2025 with Alliance Air’s Mumbai service — is approximately 100 km northwest and represents the nearest operational commercial airport for Yavatmal residents as of mid-2026.
The naming of the airport after Sant Gadge Baba carries particular resonance in Vidarbha. Gadge Baba (1876–1956) — born Debuji Zhingraji Janorkar in Amravati district — spent his life travelling barefoot across Maharashtra, cleaning public spaces, educating rural communities, establishing care institutions for the elderly and destitute, and challenging caste discrimination and superstition. Maharashtrians across communities venerate him as a saint of practical compassion. An airport in his name in this cotton-farming district is an appropriate tribute to a figure associated with the lives of ordinary rural people.
Nearby airfields in pilot navigation databases include Amravati (Belora) Airstrip, Chandrapur Airport, Nagpur Airport, Akola Airport, and Nanded Airport.
Yavatmal Airport Code: No Standard IATA or ICAO
Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport has no formally assigned IATA code and no standard ICAO code. The local identifier VA78 appears in pilot navigation databases (PilotNav, Dauntless Aviation systems) as a FAA LID — this is a local aerodrome identification code rather than a standard IATA or ICAO designation. Some third-party databases like coveringindia.com list a code of YTL for Yavatmal, but this does not appear to be a formally assigned IATA code in the standard IATA registry. The informal pilot reference IN-0369 is used in metar-taf.com and similar navigation tools. No METAR weather data is published from the airport; pilots reference Nagpur Airport (116 km northwest) for weather information.
Yavatmal Airport Terminal: MIDC-Built Airstrip, Reliance-Operated, Dormant for Passengers
Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport was constructed in 1998 by MIDC as part of the broader Maharashtra state infrastructure push to develop district-level airports across Vidarbha and Marathwada. Like several other MIDC airports — Latur, Baramati, Osmanabad, Nanded — it was part of the 2006 Maharashtra State Industries Ministry modernisation initiative that invited private operators to take over MIDC airports.
Reliance Airport Developers Ltd (RADPL) offered the highest bid of ₹27 crore (alongside Latur and Nanded) and executed a 95-year lease for Yavatmal Airport on 30 October 2009. The company’s stated plans included developing the airstrip for commercial operations and setting up a facility for recycling aero parts. Neither the commercial operations nor the recycling facility materialised in any publicly confirmed form. The airport has remained a government and general aviation facility without scheduled commercial service.
The runway designated 08/26 is the single airstrip. Basic airside infrastructure — a taxiway, an apron, and a small terminal or administrative building — serves the minimal general aviation and helicopter traffic that uses the facility. There is no commercial passenger terminal in the sense of check-in counters, departure lounges, or baggage handling for public use.
The Maharashtra government’s reclamation proceedings against RADPL for their five MIDC-leased airports (Latur, Nanded, Baramati, Osmanabad, and Yavatmal) — initiated in 2023 over stalled development, inadequate maintenance, and unpaid dues — include Yavatmal Airport. This ownership dispute is an additional obstacle to any commercial revival timeline.
Yavatmal Airport Connectivity: No Commercial Flights; Government and GA Use Only
By Air: No scheduled commercial passenger flights operate from Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport as of mid-2026. State government aircraft and helicopters use the airfield for official and VIP movements. General aviation operators use it on an as-needed basis. The nearest commercial airports are Amravati Airport (AVR, approximately 100 km northwest, Alliance Air Mumbai service) and Nagpur Airport (NAG, approximately 165 km northwest, comprehensive domestic network).
By Road: Yavatmal is connected by road to Nagpur (approximately 165 km, 3 to 3.5 hours via NH-361), Amravati (approximately 100 km northwest, 2 hours), Nanded (approximately 200 km southwest, 3.5 to 4 hours), and Hyderabad (approximately 290 km southeast, 5 to 6 hours). MSRTC state buses serve these routes from Yavatmal’s central bus stand. Local taxis connect the city to the airport (9 km east) in approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
By Rail: Yavatmal Railway Station is on the metre-gauge Murtijapur-Yavatmal line of Central Railway — a narrow-gauge branch line with limited long-distance connectivity. For broad-gauge connections to Nagpur, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, travellers use Wardha Junction (approximately 75 km north on the Nagpur-Mumbai mainline) or Nanded Junction.
Yavatmal Airport Amenities: No Public Passenger Facilities
There are no public passenger amenities at Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport. The airfield has basic aviation operational infrastructure for government and general aviation purposes but no check-in counters, departure lounge, food services, or commercial baggage handling accessible to the public. The RADPL lease, active since 2009 but subject to reclamation proceedings, has not produced the commercial terminal or operational infrastructure that would give the airport public-facing amenities.
FAQs: Sant Gadge Baba Yavatmal Airport
Q1. Does Yavatmal Airport have an IATA code?
No formally assigned IATA code exists. The local identifier VA78 (FAA LID) and pilot reference IN-0369 appear in aviation databases, and YTL appears in some third-party sites, but none are formally assigned IATA codes. No standard ICAO code has been assigned either.
Q2. Who was Sant Gadge Baba and why is the airport named after him?
Gadge Baba (1876–1956) was a barefoot social reformer and saint from Amravati district who devoted his life to rural sanitation, education of the poor, care of the destitute, and opposition to caste discrimination and superstition. He is deeply revered across Vidarbha and Maharashtra as a figure of practical, grassroots compassion.
Q3. Are there commercial flights from Yavatmal Airport?
No. The airport has no scheduled commercial passenger flights. It serves government aircraft, helicopters, and minimal general aviation. The nearest commercial options are Amravati Airport (approximately 100 km) and Nagpur Airport (approximately 165 km).
Q4. Who operates Yavatmal Airport?
MIDC owns the airport. Reliance Airport Developers Ltd (RADPL) holds a 95-year lease signed on 30 October 2009. The Maharashtra government initiated reclamation proceedings against RADPL in 2023 over stalled development across its five leased MIDC airports including Yavatmal.
Q5. What is the nearest commercial airport to Yavatmal?
Amravati Airport (AVR) at approximately 100 km northwest — where Alliance Air commenced Mumbai service in April 2025 — is the nearest operational commercial airport. Nagpur Airport (NAG) at approximately 165 km northwest is the nearest major hub.
