MUMBAI/NEW DELHI:
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has
warned of shutting the Patna airport
for big aircraft unless the state government steps in to help improve safety by
providing land to extend the runway.
In a rare intervention by a minister, Singh has written to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying operations by big aircraft (such as A320s and Boeing 737s flown by a majority of airlines) are unsuitable for the airport, which has a lower-than-normal runway length.
Kumar has responded by reversing his earlier stance of not cutting trees near the runway, and has promised quick and prompt action.
"The airport at Patna in the present status is considered to be the most critical airport in terms of flight operations due to short runway (1,556 metre as opposed to 1,800 metre) and obstacles in the form of trees in both approaches of runway and several other deficiencies, including obstacles on private land around airport," the civil aviation minister wrote in the letter dated August 3.
The chief minister should adhere to the safety guidelines, "without which DGCA may be constrained to stop operations of bigger aircraft like A320 at the Patna airport, which may cause huge inconvenience to people", Singh said.
Big Blow to Bihar's Developing Image
ET has seen and reviewed the contents of the letter.
Closing the airport to a majority of aircraft flown by leading private airlines such as Jet Airways and Indi-Go would be a devastating blow to Bihar's newly acquired economic prestige and status and affect a majority of one million passengers who use the airport every year. All the three private sector airlines operate about 130 flights per week from Patna. IndiGo has five flights per day; GoAir has three while Jet Airways has seven.
Passengers using Patna to travel to nearby locations such as Ranchi will also be severely affected if the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carries out its threat. DGCA says smaller aircraft such as turboprops don't face any major issues, but very few such aircraft are operational over Indian skies today. Only Jet Airways possesses turboprops in its fleet.
The regulator has already issued what in industry parlance is called a NOTAM, a notification to all airlines informing them of the hazards of flying in that area. The Airports Authority of India has said no major aircraft operations are possible in Patna after August 16.
In a rare intervention by a minister, Singh has written to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying operations by big aircraft (such as A320s and Boeing 737s flown by a majority of airlines) are unsuitable for the airport, which has a lower-than-normal runway length.
Kumar has responded by reversing his earlier stance of not cutting trees near the runway, and has promised quick and prompt action.
"The airport at Patna in the present status is considered to be the most critical airport in terms of flight operations due to short runway (1,556 metre as opposed to 1,800 metre) and obstacles in the form of trees in both approaches of runway and several other deficiencies, including obstacles on private land around airport," the civil aviation minister wrote in the letter dated August 3.
The chief minister should adhere to the safety guidelines, "without which DGCA may be constrained to stop operations of bigger aircraft like A320 at the Patna airport, which may cause huge inconvenience to people", Singh said.
Big Blow to Bihar's Developing Image
ET has seen and reviewed the contents of the letter.
Closing the airport to a majority of aircraft flown by leading private airlines such as Jet Airways and Indi-Go would be a devastating blow to Bihar's newly acquired economic prestige and status and affect a majority of one million passengers who use the airport every year. All the three private sector airlines operate about 130 flights per week from Patna. IndiGo has five flights per day; GoAir has three while Jet Airways has seven.
Passengers using Patna to travel to nearby locations such as Ranchi will also be severely affected if the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) carries out its threat. DGCA says smaller aircraft such as turboprops don't face any major issues, but very few such aircraft are operational over Indian skies today. Only Jet Airways possesses turboprops in its fleet.
The regulator has already issued what in industry parlance is called a NOTAM, a notification to all airlines informing them of the hazards of flying in that area. The Airports Authority of India has said no major aircraft operations are possible in Patna after August 16.
Air India has
already stopped flying to Patna till all issues are resolved. In a reply dated
August 5, the Bihar CM wrote, "...All remaining obstructions on the state
government land would be removed within the coming week." He has promised
to prune trees alongside the runway, a climbdown from his position that trees
cannot be cut as they are part of a biological park.
Airports Authority of India chairman VP Agarwal acknowledges that grounding operations of bigger aircraft will cause a lot of problems for passengers. "Traffic at Patna airport has crossed the one million-mark and it is growing at 30 per cent per annum, which is huge. We've been requesting them to take action for the past one year as there is a big risk of a crash. Finally, they seem to have changed their stance."
Major airports across the country are required to have a minimum runway length of 1,800 metre. Meeting this norm became all the more urgent for the aviation ministry and AAI after the tragic Mangalore air crash of 2010, which was blamed on pilot error compounded by a short runway. Most runways also need a Runway End Safety Area, essentially a buffer zone in case the aircraft overshoots. Some airlines are worried over the prospect of losing a lucrative market like Patna.
"We have also changed the equipment based on the requirement for the Patna airport. It is a historic route with good loads," a Jet Airways official, who did not want to be identified, said.
GoAir, which flies on this route, said the pilots have been trained to fly on the Patna runway and the airline sees no safety issue. "But if the authorities say that we need to stop operations, we will do so as safety is paramount. But the runway meets the Airbus-mandated guidelines," said Giorgio Di Roni, CEO, GoAir.
If operations are curtailed only to allow smaller aircraft, all airlines, including national carrier Air India, that recently started flights to the airport will be impacted severely. And as Patna airport offers connectivity to other cities in the state like Ranchi, this route will also suffer.
Airports Authority of India chairman VP Agarwal acknowledges that grounding operations of bigger aircraft will cause a lot of problems for passengers. "Traffic at Patna airport has crossed the one million-mark and it is growing at 30 per cent per annum, which is huge. We've been requesting them to take action for the past one year as there is a big risk of a crash. Finally, they seem to have changed their stance."
Major airports across the country are required to have a minimum runway length of 1,800 metre. Meeting this norm became all the more urgent for the aviation ministry and AAI after the tragic Mangalore air crash of 2010, which was blamed on pilot error compounded by a short runway. Most runways also need a Runway End Safety Area, essentially a buffer zone in case the aircraft overshoots. Some airlines are worried over the prospect of losing a lucrative market like Patna.
"We have also changed the equipment based on the requirement for the Patna airport. It is a historic route with good loads," a Jet Airways official, who did not want to be identified, said.
GoAir, which flies on this route, said the pilots have been trained to fly on the Patna runway and the airline sees no safety issue. "But if the authorities say that we need to stop operations, we will do so as safety is paramount. But the runway meets the Airbus-mandated guidelines," said Giorgio Di Roni, CEO, GoAir.
If operations are curtailed only to allow smaller aircraft, all airlines, including national carrier Air India, that recently started flights to the airport will be impacted severely. And as Patna airport offers connectivity to other cities in the state like Ranchi, this route will also suffer.
