Agra Air Force Station

Agra Airport is a military airbase and public airport serving the city of Agra, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The air force station is one of the largest airbase of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and has been synonymous with the Taj Mahal for over half a century. On 15 August 2007, the airbase celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. The airbase was also featured in the 2013 Walt Disney Pictures movie - Planes as a pit stop for the Wings Across The World race.HistoryThe station was opened during World War II as Royal Air Forces Station Agra and had a number of flying units located there. It was closed after the war and transferred to the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF). The prefix Royal was later dropped and the station was later renamed. Air Force Station Agra was established on 15 August 1947 and placed under the command of Wing Commander Shivdev Singh, who was the incumbent commander of the No. 12 Sqn. Based on the then present system of Commands, the airfield fell under the responsibility of the Western Air Command (WAC). The base remained under this Theatre Command for the next two decades. In July 1971 it was transferred to the Central Air Command (CAC), where it remains today.The airfield has remained unchanged, although many of the aircraft, squadrons, officers, and men have come and gone. During its sixty-year history with the IAF, it has seen the likes of C-47 Dakotas, C-119 Packets, HS 748 'Avros', AN-12s, AN-32s, IL-76s, Canberras, IL-78 MKI and now the Airborne Early Warning and Control/AWACS. Today, it is hard to find a transport pilot who has not been at Air Force Station Agra at least sometime during his career; this trend will undoubtedly continue well into the future.