AAI Survey For Adilbad Airport To Begin On April 17
Airport will have separate ATC for defence and civilian use
Adilabad: The length of the runway has become the main cause of concern for setting up the Adilabad airport, as it will determine the nature of aircraft that could land at the airport, which will serve both civilian and defence needs.
Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Union defence ministry and the state government will take a call on the length of the runway and its angle for the proposed airport after conducting a field-level Obstacle Limitation Survey (OLS) survey on the ground on April 17.
The OLS is aimed at preventing obstructions to taking off and landing in the airport area. It identifies maps, evaluates natural features like streams and rivulets and manmade objects such as electricity towers and buildings and terrain in the vicinity of the proposed airport.
If bigger aircraft have to land at the airport, the runway should be longer than 2.9 km. If the runway is shorter than 2.9 km, the airport cannot serve international flights and will have to serve only domestic aeroplanes.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Adilabad MLA Payal Shankar said the runway will be 2.5 km long as the total length of the proposed airport itself is 3.1 km. He said the Union defence ministry and AAI will establish the Airport Training Centre and the Defence Research Institute at Adilabad along with the airport.
Initially, the government had proposed to develop the airport through a joint venture with the Airport Authority of India (AAI). However, the defence ministry had agreed to build the airport, while AAI will construct the civilian terminal.
He said the defence ministry has agreed to partner with the AAI for the Adilabad airport due to its strategic location. The airport is expected to be ready in the shortest possible time — within the next three years. The foundation ceremony will be held after the defence ministry approves the master plan.
The new airport will be built at an already existing defence airstrip in 370 acres of land, and the government needs to acquire an additional 450 acres of land required for the airport. However, the bigger airports need to have at least 1,200 acres of land.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has already issued a GO allocating 700 acres of land for the new airport, with 430 acres already released immediately. The facility will be jointly used by AAI and the defence ministry. The airport will have civilian terminal facilities on one side and the Indian Air Force (IAF) station on the other. It will have two separate Air Traffic Control — one each for civilian and defence purposes.
The construction of an airport at Adilabad — a gateway to Telangana — was considered essential to harness untapped tourism potential and other commercial purposes. As the air traffic controller is not allowing aviation training schools for pilots within a 150-km radius of Hyderabad, the BJP MLA said such training centres will be shifted to Adilabad.