Title - Airports Authority of India's fresh reprieve to Patna airport

PATNA: Bigger aircraft like Airbus-320 and Boeing 737 will continue to operate from the Jaya Prakash Narayan International Airport here beyond November 30, till further orders. On Wednesday, the airport authorities received a new order from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) allowing the existing runway length to be used till the AAI sets a new deadline. Earlier, it may be recalled, the AAI had issued order for reducing the runway's length in view of the obstructions in the vicinity of the airport and called for removing them (including trees) on a priority basis. Implementation of this order was deferred a couple of times, with the latest deadline being set to expire on November 30. Reduction of the runway length would have made the airport unfit for operation of wide-bodied jets. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier asked the AAI to get the minimum safety requirements fulfilled for operating the airport. "The revised runway length was to be implemented from November 30, which has been deferred for the time being," said Arvind Dubey, director, Patna airport. He said, "In the letter issued by the AAI, it is mentioned that the issue of removal of obstructions in the vicinity of the airport remains. The latest order states the obstacles should be removed at the earliest." "AAI has not set any new deadline, but this does not mean that the issue of removal of obstructions has been resolved. The order said that the removal of obstructions should be looked into immediately and the next order from the AAI would depend on the progress of the removal work," he said. The concerns of DGCA regarding safe landing and take-off of big aircraft at the airport arises from the fact that there are tall trees along the Phulwari railway track and in the graveyard which remain to be trimmed. The AAI found that the Patna airport had identified 101 obstructions on either side of the tarmac which were dangerous for the landing of aircraft. According to forest department officials, hundreds of trees have been pruned and cut, besides removal of hoardings and streetlights near the airport. All scheduled airlines like Air India, Jet Airways, Indigo, GoAir and Kingfisher fly to Patna and, on an average, the airport witnesses over 40 take-offs and landing by these airlines every day. DGCA had pointed out that the airport has one of the shortest runways in the country at 6,409 feet. Only 5,061 feet of the runway is in use. The short runway makes it difficult for bigger aircraft like Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 to operate at the airport.