New flights on Paro–Bagdogra-Kathmandu sector from May 15

Bagdogra gets land for night landing


BY BIRESWAR BANERJEE

Bagdogra, Jan. 20: The stage is set for the introduction of the instrumental landing system at Bagdogra Airport after the government handed over 12 acres to the Airports Authority of India.

The AAI had given green light to the development of the ILS long time back, but the project could not be implemented because of the delay by the Darjeeling district administration to transfer the land.

The ILS helps planes land and take off at night and in poor visibility caused by inclement weather.

“We received a letter dated January 17 from the district administration, informing us that (Phansidewa) block land and land reform department had been directed to hand over 12.91 acres to the AAI. The land will be used to extend the existing runway wherein Category 1 approach light will be installed to guide planes during the landing,” Bagdogra airport director K.K. Bhowmik said this afternoon.

Long runway and approach lights are integral parts of the ILS. The length of the existing runway at Bagdogra is around 9,000ft. The new plot will be used to extend the runway by another 3,000ft.

Night landing facility is another key feature of the ILS. “If the facility is in place, planes can operate even if the visibility ranges from 800 metres to 1.2km only. Otherwise, visibility of 2.4km is needed for flights to land,” said Bhowmik.

The director hoped that once the night landing facility was put in place, the number of flights operating out of Bagdogra would go up.

Presently, nine services are available every day on an average.

The airport, a civil enclave located inside the Air Force Station, was handed over to the AAI in 1962. Even though half a century has passed, the airport is yet to be equipped with modern sophisticated facilities like the ILS.

“We got no objection from the India Air Force in 2009 to use around nine acres to install the ILS and approached the district administration for the rest of the land. The entire land needed for the ILS will soon be with us after the demarcation of plots,” said Bhowmik.

Bhowmik also said Air India had introduced direct flights between Bagdogra and New Delhi five days a week.

“Air India has started operating the flights from January 18. The services will be available on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The flight will depart at 10.10am and reach Delhi at 12.05pm. Apart from that, new flights on Paro–Bagdogra-Kathmandu sector will be operated by Druk Air on Mondays and Fridays from May 15,” he said.