Vellore Airport (ICAO: VOVR) is an airstrip located in Abdullapuram,5 Kilometres east of Vellore city, Tamil Nadu, India. The airstrip, spread over 51.5 acres (208,000 square metres), was re-activated in July 2006 to facilitate regular flying by trainee pilots of the Madras Flying Club whose operations were restricted with the increase in scheduled aircraft movement at Chennai Airport. The Club stopped its training activities in March 2011. The Tamil Nadu government had announced that it would speed up the construction of a terminal building and make the airport fully functional by 2009 to allow operation by 45-seater ATR aircraft. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has embarked on an "idle airports activation programme" in the Southern region that includes Vellore. The Government plans to set up Shri Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Aeronautical Science and Training of Pilots Academy at Vellore as part of expansion of Vellore Airport.