--- iata: LKO name: Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport city: Lucknow country: India lastUpdated: '2026-09-08' officialWebsite: 'https://lucknow.adaniairports.com/' sources: - 'https://lucknow.adaniairports.com/' - 'https://www.aai.aero/en/airports/lucknow' - 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaudhary_Charan_Singh_International_Airport' - >- https://www.prioritypass.com/en-GB/lounges/india/chaudhary-charan-singh-international - >- https://www.prioritypass.com/en-GB/lounges/india/chaudhary-charan-singh-international/lko1-adani-lounge - >- https://www.prioritypass.com/en-GB/lounges/india/chaudhary-charan-singh-international/lko2-budweiser - >- https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/digital-india/digiyatra-at-lucknow-now-use-digital-check-in-services-to-board-flights-at-chaudhary-charan-singh-international-airport/103030794 - >- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/now-check-in-through-digiyatra-at-amausi-airport/articleshow/103003515.cms - >- https://www.internationalairportreview.com/article/539587/redefining-passenger-experience-the-transformation-of-lucknow-airports-terminal-3/ - 'https://upmetrorail.com/' quickFacts: - >- Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (IATA LKO / ICAO VILK) is Lucknow’s civil airport at Amausi, about 14 km from the city centre — owned by the Airports Authority of India and operated by Lucknow International Airport Limited (LIAL), the Adani Airports SPV, under a 50-year PPP concession that took effect in 2020 (AAI handover notice; PPF bid ₹171 per passenger). Passenger site referenced by AAI: https://lucknow.adaniairports.com/. Screenshot LKO (VILK) ≠ DEL / VNS / AYJ — Uttar Pradesh has multiple airports and the wrong IATA is a multi-hour road mistake. - >- Three passenger shells sit on one campus. Terminal 3 is the modern integrated domestic + international building inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 10 March 2024 (≈111,000 m²; design peak-hour capacity cited around 4,000 passengers with Phase-1 annual capacity framed toward ~13 million). Terminal 2 (opened 2012) remains the paper-plane roof domestic hall with the Lucknow Metro Red Line CCS Airport station on its forecourt. Terminal 1 is the older 1986 shell — Wikipedia still describes international / limited use and eventual demolition for Terminal 3 Phase 2. Trust the boarding pass / FIDS for which door to enter; do not invent a sterile walk between T2 and T3. - >- Traffic (AAI tables as compiled on Wikipedia for April 2025–March 2026 / FY 2025–26): 6,065,957 passengers (−5.8%), 40,276 aircraft movements (−18.9%), 22,566.1 tonnes of cargo (−2.1%). FY 2024–25 was still above 6.4 million passengers with about 49,660 movements. Prefer AAI annex figures when auditing; marketing “~6M” wraps are the same year rounded. - >- Airfield (Wikipedia / public AIP summaries for VILK): single runway 09/27 — 2,744 m × 60 m PEM; aerodrome elevation about 123 m / 404 ft; ARP about 26°45′38″N 080°53′25″E. ILS CAT III-B on the eastern approach is published — useful in Lucknow’s winter fog season, not a free pass to cut buffers. Pure civil passenger side under LIAL; DigiYatra biometric domestic entry has been live since 23 August 2023 (first rolled out at Terminal 2; now part of the Terminal 3 passenger product). - >- Lounges (live Priority Pass Chaudhary Charan Singh / Lucknow directory, checked Sep 2026): two soft rooms in Terminal 3 only — Adani Lounge (domestic airside near boarding gates; published 00:00–23:59 daily; max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free on PP conditions; quiet area / massage chairs listed as paid extras) and Budweiser (international airside 2nd floor near boarding gates; published 24 hours daily; max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free; children’s play area listed; standard alcohol listed complimentary on PP). Live PP directory = these two pins only — do not invent Encalm / Plaza Premium / old Terminal 2 “The Lounge” / AGL soft rooms from aggregator or card-network mirrors. - >- Ground: Lucknow Metro Red Line southern terminus CCS Airport stands in front of Terminal 2 (opened with the Red Line extension; UPMRC network page upmetrorail.com). Prepaid / official taxi counters and app cabs remain Plan A for Terminal 3 kerbs and late nights when metro is closed. NH-27 is the primary highway approach linking the elevated Terminal 2–3 corridor toward the city and Kanpur. No suburban rail into the terminal building. bentoTips: - label: Timing title: Fog season still owns the buffer — CAT III-B is not magic detail: >- DigiYatra shrinks domestic entry for enrolled passengers, but a single 2,744 m runway, winter fog banks, and Gulf / Hajj international waves still chew schedules. Domestic ~2 hours early is the sane default; international wants a full ~3 hours. Do not plan ultra-thin self-connects that change domestic↔international or T2↔T3 without a landside re-clear — there is no sterile campus walk. If you hold Priority Pass, both live soft rooms publish near-24h hours with a 3-hour max stay — still confirm the live app pin before you bank on a lounge soak. summary: DigiYatra helps domestic; fog + single runway still demand real buffers. category: timing - label: Terminal title: Confirm T2 vs T3 before the car leaves Hazratganj detail: >- Terminal 3 is the big March 2024 integrated hall for most modern domestic and international flows. Terminal 2 still sits on campus with the metro at its door. Terminal 1 is the legacy shell on a demolition path for T3 Phase 2. Follow airline / FIDS terminal letters on the day — blogs that still say “all international = T1” or “all domestic = T2 only” are stale after T3 opened. Screenshot LKO ≠ VNS (Lal Bahadur Shastri, Varanasi) ≠ DEL. summary: T3 is the main modern product — T2 still matters for metro and some banks. category: terminal - label: Food title: Adani / Budweiser if entitled — otherwise landside sealed water first detail: >- Priority Pass / LoungeKey holders should use the live directory (Adani Lounge domestic T3 + Budweiser international T3 only). Adani publishes 00:00–23:59 with a 3-hour max stay; Budweiser publishes 24 hours with a 3-hour max stay and standard alcohol listed complimentary. Quiet rooms / massage chairs on the Adani page are extra-pay. Without entitlement, buy sealed water and snacks landside before CISF; airside F&B in T3 is a modern Adani retail mix at airport prices. summary: Two live PP soft rooms in T3; both near-24h with a 3-hour cap. category: food - label: Access title: Metro to T2 — prepaid taxi when you are on the T3 kerb or after last train detail: >- Lucknow Metro Red Line ends at CCS Airport in front of Terminal 2 — excellent for light bags toward Hazratganj / Charbagh when trains are running. Terminal 3 arrivals still often need a short landside hop or an official prepaid / app taxi. Treat metro as Plan A only inside published hours; late Gulf arrivals default to prepaid taxi. Do not invent an airport suburban railway platform inside the terminal. summary: 'Red Line metro is real — but it fronts T2, not a magic T3 platform.' category: status lounges: - name: Adani Lounge (Domestic — Terminal 3) zone: >- Airside Terminal 3 domestic departures — near the boarding gates (Priority Pass lko1-adani-lounge). hours: '00:00-23:59' access: - Priority Pass / LoungeKey / DragonPass (confirm live PP listing) - Eligible Indian premium credit-card programmes that list this room - Paid walk-up when the operator offers it (confirm desk / Adani) bestFor: - >- Domestic departures with Priority Pass on any clock (published 24h hours) - >- Families with children under 5 (free on PP conditions) who need a soft room summary: >- Primary live Priority Pass domestic soft room at LKO (PP code LKO1 / lko1-adani-lounge; ~3.8 / 240+ reviews on the live page). Published hours 00:00–23:59; max stay 3 hours; children under 5 admitted free on PP conditions. Quiet area and massage chairs are listed as paid extras; shoe shine listed complimentary. Confirm the live app pin and ignore Encalm / Plaza Premium / old T2 AGL aggregator mirrors that do not match the live Lucknow directory. verdict: worth-it terminal: Terminal 3 (Domestic) amenities: - Air conditioning / Wi-Fi / flight information / newspapers listed on PP - Digital card accepted / disabled access listed - Massage chairs and quiet area listed as extra payment on PP - Max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free on PP conditions - name: Budweiser (International — Terminal 3) zone: >- Airside Terminal 3 international departures — 2nd floor near the boarding gates (Priority Pass lko2-budweiser). hours: 24 hours daily access: - Priority Pass / LoungeKey / DragonPass (confirm live PP listing) - Eligible Indian premium credit-card programmes that list this room - Paid walk-up when the operator offers it (confirm desk) bestFor: - >- Overnight and early Gulf / Hajj international banks that need a 24h soft room - >- Priority Pass holders who want listed complimentary standard alcohol airside summary: >- Live Priority Pass international soft room at LKO (PP code LKO2 / lko2-budweiser). Published 24 hours daily; max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free; separate children’s play area listed; standard alcoholic drinks listed complimentary on PP facilities. Adani One marketing may brand a sister “Adani International Lounge” in T3 — for Priority Pass entitlement trust the live Budweiser pin, not a second invented soft room. verdict: worth-it terminal: Terminal 3 (International) amenities: - Air conditioning / Wi-Fi / flight information listed on PP - Standard alcoholic drinks listed complimentary on PP facilities - Digital card accepted / disabled access listed - Children’s play area listed; max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free waterOptions: - kind: purchase name: Landside sealed water (check-in halls) zone: landside price: >- Typical Indian-airport sealed-bottle markup — confirm shelf tag (often roughly ₹40–80) summary: >- Best default hydration play — buy sealed water landside before CISF so you are not hostage to airside café pricing after a humid UP transfer. location: >- Convenience and café kiosks in Terminal 3 (and Terminal 2 when that shell is your check-in) departures halls before security / DigiYatra entry terminal: Terminal 3 / Terminal 2 landside isBestValue: true - kind: purchase name: Airside retail water zone: airside price: Higher than landside — confirm shelf tag summary: >- Markup backup once you are through security; fine for a top-up, poor as Plan A. location: Post-security café and retail units toward the T3 gate lounges terminal: Terminal 3 airside - kind: free name: Lounge drinks (entitlement only) zone: airside summary: >- Soft drinks (and, on the Budweiser PP page, listed standard alcohol) with Priority Pass / paid / card entitlement only — not a public fountain. Max stay 3 hours; children under 5 free on live PP conditions. location: >- Adani Lounge domestic T3 near boarding gates (00:00–23:59) or Budweiser international T3 2nd floor near boarding gates (24 hours) during published windows terminal: Terminal 3 airside isBestQuality: true airportistScore: 7 slug: lko region: Asia-Pacific --- > Markdown for [/airports/lko](/airports/lko). Append `.md` to any page URL (or send `Accept: text/markdown`) for an agent-readable copy. - [HTML page](/airports/lko) - [Lounge directory](/airports/lko/lounges.md) - [Sitemap](/sitemap.md) # Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (LKO) Lucknow, India · Asia-Pacific Adani-operated Lucknow gateway at Amausi — March 2024 Terminal 3 for most modern domestic and international flows, DigiYatra since August 2023, Red Line metro at Terminal 2, and two live Priority Pass soft rooms in T3 (Adani domestic + Budweiser international, both near-24h with a 3-hour cap) — still a single-runway fog airport where the boarding-pass terminal letter matters. ## Airportist Score **7.0 / 10** Weighted sum of the six published categories (no holistic fudge). - Ease of use (25%): 7.4 — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout. - Comfort & amenities (20%): 6.8 — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet. - Food & retail (15%): 6.2 — Food and retail quality and variety. - Ground access (15%): 8.4 — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city. - Reliability (15%): 5.9 — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience. - Lounges (10%): 7.2 — Worth-it density and access quality. ## At a glance - Passengers: 6,065,957 (AAI FY 2025–26 via Wikipedia compilation of AAI annexes); FY 2024–25 was still above 6.4M - Terminals: Three landside shells — Terminal 3 (integrated domestic + international, opened 10 Mar 2024) is the main modern product; Terminal 2 (2012) still hosts the metro forecourt; Terminal 1 is the legacy 1986 shell on a Phase-2 demolition path - Typical security: 16 min - On-time: 76% - Disruption: minor ## Best for - Lucknow / central UP trips where LKO is the ticketed airport (not VNS or DEL) - Domestic IndiGo banks with DigiYatra enrolled into Terminal 3 - Priority Pass holders who can use Adani Lounge (domestic T3, published 00:00–23:59) or Budweiser (international T3, published 24h) - Travellers who can ride Lucknow Metro Red Line from the CCS Airport stop when Terminal 2 / train hours fit ## Watch out for - LKO (VILK) ≠ VNS Varanasi ≠ DEL — wrong IATA is a multi-hour road recovery - Terminal 2 vs Terminal 3 vs legacy Terminal 1 — trust the boarding pass / FIDS, not a 2022 blog - Metro fronts Terminal 2, not a sterile dump inside Terminal 3 security - Single 2,744 m runway and winter fog — CAT III-B helps landings, not your city-side buffer ## More intel - [Lounge directory](/airports/lko/lounges.md) (free) - [Getting there](/airports/lko/getting-there.md) (free) - [Amenities](/airports/lko/amenities.md) - [Traveler tips](/airports/lko/tips.md) - [Water](/airports/lko/water.md) - [Full guide](/airports/lko/guide.md) - [Disruptions](/airports/lko/disruptions.md) - [Reviews](/airports/lko/reviews.md)