 |
 |
|
 Custom Search
05/08/2010
Patna airport declared most critical, fears closure Patna,(BiharTimes): The Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport at Patna has been tagged as the most critical aerodrome of the country and may even be shut down if alternative land is not provided by the Bihar government. A safety audit by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, conducted after the Mangalore tragedy of May 22, identified 11 airports as critical. The airports, apart from Patna, which fall in this category are Leh, Kullu, Shimla, Port Blair, Agartala, Lengpui, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Latur and Jammu. The audit report published on Wednesday said: “The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the state (Bihar) government to either relocate the critical 6,000-foot airstrip, which is fit to operate only small aircraft, or suggest ways to improve and expand the airstrip.” The Ministry, citing safety concens, has threatened to shut down the Patna airport if the Bihar government does not make necessary infrastructure changes. On Tuesday, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Rajya Sabha about the audit report. He was serious about the safety problems faced by the airline industry and said that the recommendations of the audit would be implemented by Airports Authority of India (AAI) within one month at its airports and that for the Defence airports, the matter would be taken up with Defence Ministry.
|
