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Airport development in North East region faces topographical challenges

The airports in the North East, which feature in the 32 non- operational Indian airports to be turned operational by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), face issues like odd geographical location and poor topography. The airports which the AAI plans to update, develop and modernise include, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam and Mizoram. Apart from this, AAI is also scouting for land to expand the existing small airports in Kamalpur and Kailasahar in Tripura and Teju and Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.

Talking about the challenges faced by the region while developing airports, V Swamasundaram, Spokesperson, AAI said, “Despite receiving huge funds from the center, we are striving to build good airports. We struggle to achieve proper topographical condition to ensure visibility and safety for the airlines. The region, despite having enormous tourism and industrial potential, is still not well-connected. These airports are too small to accommodate the aircraft. That is why they have been non-operational all these years.”

Apart from the lack of proper space in the region to build airports, lack of proper visibility is another problem. “We are currently trying to identify airports where we can start Visual Meteorological Condition (VMC) operations. Very few North East airports enjoy VMC operation,” said an AAI official engaged in the NE Airport Development Project.

“The Development of North East Region (DoNER) and the North East Council (NEC) are putting enough efforts to make the best use of the funds, while the Planning Commission and the concerned State Governments are lending enough support to keep the region well connected,” informed J Lyngdoh, Managing Director, Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation. DoNER has also proposed an airline dedicated exclusively to the North East. The state, which survives on helicopter operation, will not get enough support from the AAI to develop the Helipads and Heliports. “We have only one Heliport in Arunachal Pradesh and have no immediate plans to update it. State governments, however, are taking initiatives to double their helicopter operations in their respective and neighbouring states,” added Swamasundaram.

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