Darbhanga Airport

Darbhanga Airport (ICAO: VE89) is a civil enclave being constructed at the Darbhanga Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force[2], 6 kilometres from Darbhanga, Bihar, India, near the NH-105 North–South and East-West Corridor expressway which passes through Darbhanga. The civil enclave will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The foundation stone for the project was laid by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and then Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu in the presence of state Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on 24 December 2018.[3] Work is expected to be completed by October 2020.[4]

Darbhanga Airport
Summary
Airport typeCivil Enclave
OwnerIndian Air Force
OperatorAirports Authority of India
ServesDarbhanga, North Bihar
LocationDarbhanga, Bihar, India
Coordinates26°11′41″N 085°55′03″E
Map
VE89
VE89
VE89
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,843 9,328 Asphalt

AAI will invest around ₹100 crores under UDAN scheme of the Government of India. The runway will be strengthened to handle the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 and a pre-fabricated building is under construction which will serve as a temporary terminal building.[5] The terminal will have six check-in counters, a capacity to handle 200 peak hour passengers and a car park with parking facility for 30 cars. [6]

History

This airport was built by Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur of Darbhanga when he started his own private airline. It was funded by a private aviation company Darbhanga Aviation after Second World War. He purchased three former military Douglas DC3 aircraft. Darbhanga Aviation was started in 1950 and became defunct in 1962.[7]

During the 1962 Indo-China War, the airport was acquired by the Indian Air Force.[8] A civil enclave or terminal building along with ATC (air traffic control) tower, parking apron and cargo among other facilities are now being planned by acquiring land close to existing airbase to start commercial flight operations.[9] The Bihar government has already initiated the land acquisition and 31 acres of the land will be provided to the Indian Air Force, Darbhanga for the further planning of the permanent terminal building at AAI, Darbhanga. Sushil Modi met with officials in Delhi to expedite process so flights can be started from the city. It is expected that the terminal work and runway strengthtening work will be completed by October 2020.[10] Another high-level meeting was also held on this issue in Patna.[11] At the foundation stone laying ceremony, Jayant Sinha suggested naming the airport after famous Maithili Poet Vidyapati.[3] SpiceJet was selected to operate flights under the UDAN scheme to Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai using the temporary terminal at Darbhanga. The state government has allotted Rs 121 crore to acquire 31 acres at Ranipur-Bihatwara area for construction of a new terminal building, cargo, parking space and other auxiliary facilities.[12]

UDAN Scheme

Under UDAN scheme-II, SpiceJet has been awarded a Letter of Award to operate flights from Darbhanga to Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. There will be seven flights per week to these cities by 189-seat jets, including 40 RCS seats with a maximum fare of Rs.3,199/-.[13] Airport Authority of India has started the construction of the Interim Terminal Building, the taxi track and the apron area, strengthening of runways and perform technical work from 24 December 2018 onwards. The government of India has already sanctioned approximately ₹100 crores for these projects. [14] Moreover, AAI has also initiated the process of acquiring 31 additional acres of land from Airforce Station, Darbhanga. Once the flight operations begin, it will benefit northern Bihar.

Under-construction porta-cabin (temporary terminal)
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See also

References
  1. "VE89 @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018.
  2. "ATS". indianairforce.nic.in. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. "Foundation of civil enclave laid at Darbhanga airport". The Times of India. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  4. "IAF requested to allow resumption of Darbhanga airport work: Puri". The Economic Times. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  5. "Indigo and SpiceJet express interest in operating flights from Darbhanga - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  6. "Darbhanga airport: CM Nitish Kumar lays foundation for civil enclave". Hindustan Times. 25 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  7. "Darbhanga Aviation history from India, Rest of World". Airline History. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. "First President's royal flight in '62". The Times of India. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Commercial flights from Darbhanga likely to begin from March 2020". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  13. "Indigo and SpiceJet express interest in operating flights from Darbhanga". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018.
  14. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/flight-operations-from-darbhanga-from-mid-2019-aai-at-work/articleshow/65985198.cms
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