🇮🇳 INS Garuda / Willingdon Island Naval Air Station

INS Garuda (VOCC) is an Indian naval air station located in Kochi, Kerala, India. It is the oldest operating air station of the Indian Navy, commissioned on May 11, 1953.

• Location: Kochi, Kerala, India.
• Type: Military airfield, specifically a naval air station. It is adjacent to INS Venduruthy, the headquarters of the Southern Naval Command.
• Runways: It has two intersecting asphalt runways:
• 13/31: 1,414 meters (4,639 feet).
• 17/35: 1,816 meters (5,958 feet).
• Uses: It serves as a major naval air training center and an operational base. It houses several naval aviation training schools, including the Observer School, School for Naval Airmen (SFNA), Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology (NIAT), and the School for Naval Oceanography and Meteorology (SNOM). Various Indian Naval Air Squadrons are based here, operating aircraft such as Dornier 228, Westland Sea King Mk 42B, HAL Chetak, HAL Dhruv, Sikorsky MH-60R SeaHawk, IAI Heron, and IAI Searcher Mk. II UAVs.
• Historical Significance: The original airstrip was built in 1936 by the Cochin Port Trust. During World War II, it was expanded by the Royal Air Force in 1941 and later transferred to the Royal Navy in 1943 for aircraft assembly. After independence, the facilities were transferred to the Indian Navy, leading to the commissioning of INS Garuda. A civil enclave operated here until 1999 when Cochin International Airport was commissioned.

*Sources researched: ourairports.com, airfield.directory, indiannavy.nic.in, indianeconomicobserver.com, lowtideleisure.com*