Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport

Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport Patna Airport जयप्रकाश नारायण हवाई अड्डा
IATA: PAT – ICAO: VEPT PAT Location of airport in India
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Airports Authority of India
Serves		Patna, India
Elevation AMSL		170 ft / 52 m
Coordinates		25°35′37″N 085°05′31″E
Website		http://www.patnaairport.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
07/25	1,954	6,410	Asphalt
Statistics (Apr '10 - Mar '11)
Passenger movements			838,509
Aircraft movements			9,547
Cargo tonnage			3,279
Source: AAI

Patna Airport (IATA: PAT, ICAO: VEPT), also known as Jaiprakash Narayan Airport, Patna (Hindi: जयप्रकाश नारायण हवाई अड्डा), is an airport located 5 kilometres (2.7 NM) southwest of Patna, the capital of state of Bihar in India. According to the statistics released by the Airports Authority of India, the agency responsible for the airport, it is the 22nd busiest airport in India and domestic traffic is growing rapidly.

Facilities

The airport covers an area of 254 acres (103 ha) and resides at an elevation of 170 feet (52 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 07/25 with an asphalt surface measuring 1,954 by 45 metres (6,411 × 148 ft).

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines provide scheduled passenger service to destinations in India:

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air India	Delhi
GoAir	Delhi, Mumbai, Pune
IndiGo	Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Mumbai
Jetlite	Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ranchi
Jet Airways	Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Indore, Kolkata, Lucknow
Kingfisher Airlines	Delhi, Ranchi

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Blue Dart Aviation	Delhi

Incidents

On 17 July 2000, Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed near the airport prior to landing, killing 60 people.

New Airport

Even as other airports in the countries are barely managing to handle the increasing number of airlines and flights, Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport or the Patna airport is faced with a problem of a conflicting kind. The Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport has the capability to handle 40 flights a day, but it has just eight flights a day. Most of the major Indian cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, among others, have no direct flights from Patna. The sources of the airline industry said that there had been an aversion to introducing new flights to the city, even though the availability of passengers was not a problem. This happened because of the failure of the Airports Authority of India to offer adequate runway length, which is a perquisite for landing larger aircraft with full load capacity. This difficulty aggravates during the summer months when the air gets thinner and most of the airlines have keep many vacant seats due to a shorter runway.

The physical length of the city airport is 7,500 ft but the utmost landing space available is only 6,330 ft. An official of a private airline said that most of the airlines were there to earn money but if they would compromise on the number of passengers, then introducing new flights would be a better option instead of sorting out this issue. The senior AAI officials accepted the problem but said that the airport was located with the zoo on one side and the railway tracks on the other. This also prevented the authorities from adding to the length of the runway. They have plans to construct a new airport at Bihta, on the outskirts of Patna but the land had been shelved since the land offered by the state government was not up to the mark for constructing a new airport. The short length of the runway and the constraints due to the location had also affected the up-gradation of landing instrument. The techniques and equipment at the airport is still old and they are doing with CAT-I landing instrument, where landing of planes difficult in foggy conditions is very difficult. With current norms the visibility of up to 1,600 meters is a must and with winters approaching flights are going to have more problems here.

But the present landing system instrument can be upgraded to the CAT-III category, which would allow the aircrafts to land in zero visibility conditions. However the restrictions of the location are not allowing this from happening. Even the amenities of the passengers like food joints, medical facilities and foolproof security need to be upgraded. The opening of a boutique-cum-handicraft emporium at the airport is a part of the renovation plan for the airport. But passengers complain that the airport lacks many facilities which are available at other major airports. In spite of these small changes the airport will not be able to get any respite from the location problem till they get a better option for the same.

The new airport for the state capital will take some time before take-off. Even five months after the state government received a letter from Airports Authority of India (AAI) to provide extra space for its proposed site at Nalanda, it is yet to take a final call on the allotment of land.

“After several rounds of talks with AAI, the state government had agreed on giving 1,200 acres of land in the Silao circle of Nalanda district. But AAI had replied that it required more than 4,000 acres, keeping in mind the future development of the proposed airport. Although, we have still not taken a final call on giving more than 1,200 acres at the proposed site, it is not possible for us to provide more than 3,500 acres. Land acquisition is not an issue at the proposed site,” said Ravikant, the principal secretary of the cabinet co-ordination department.

The state civil aviation department is under the cabinet co-ordination department.

Earlier, AAI made its recommendation to set up an alternative airport for Patna at either Bihta or Nalanda. Bihta was the first preference. The land requirement at Bihta, which is around 35km from Patna, is around 1,000 acre in addition to the existing plot on which the airbase is located. In Nalanda, the land requirement stands at 4,800 acres.

fter exploring the ground realities, the state government had decided that setting up the airport at Bihta was not practical, as acquisition of additional land would need relocation of thousands of families.

The state government sent a letter to AAI stating its willingness to provide 1,200 acres of land at Nalanda for the proposed airport.

“The growth of Patna airport has been tremendous in the past few years, both in terms of passenger flow and aircraft movement. However, against the ideal runway length of 3,000m for landing of larger aircraft, the runway length of the existing airport is just 1,954m. Obstacles in the approach funnel, like the height of the secretariat tower, tall trees on the zoo premises nearby, overhead electrical cable and high poles near the railway track further reduce the effective length of the runway. Moreover, we are also not able to provide international-standard passengers amenities at the existing terminal because of a space crunch. As a result of all these, there is an urgent need for an alternative airport. Patna airport authority has vigorously pursued the state government in this regard but in vain,” said a senior officer of the airport.

The officer also expressed reservations about the state government’s persistence to develop an alternative airport at Nalanda. “I don’t understand the reason for such persistence to make an airport at a distance of 80km from the city, especially when the AAI’s first preference was Bihta airbase, which is around 35km from the city. Also, at Bihta, the government would have to provide only 1,000 acres in addition to the existing airbase,” added the officer.

Ravikant, on the other hand, completely ruled out any development on the Bihta front. “It is practically not feasible to relocate so many people for the proposed airport when abundant area is available at Nalanda,” he added.

On August 13 Patna MP, Shatrughan Sinha, as the chairman of the Aerodrome Committee of the Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport, wrote a letter to railway minister Mamata Banerjee to make a fantastic demand of shifting the Patna-Mughalsarai railway track from the southern side of the Patna airport. Less than a fortnight later on August 27 the chairman of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) V P Agrawal met Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar and discussed, inter alia, the possibility of shifting the airport to Bihta, about 40 kms west of the state capital. In fact talks for shifting the airport to Bihta has been going on for the last several years.

Apart from that he discussed issues pertaining to development of Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Raxaul and Jogbani airports.

Later talking to newsmen he said that he discussed with the Chief Minister the development of five airports in Bihar including an alternative option of having another airport in Patna near Bihta. There is already an Indian Air Force airport in that township.

He conceded that there were so many restrictions for developing the existing Patna airport as there is zoo on the one side and railway line on the other side.

As the IAF airport has a runway of 8,200 feet and is less utilized the AAI is planning to shift the present one in Patna to Bihta. However, this is subjected to the clearance from the defence ministry. According to Agarwal “acquiring just 500 to 800 acres of land at the western end of the Bihta airport will help us have a runway length of 9,000 feet which is conducive for wide-bodied aircraft and enable operation of international flights.”

The balance of advantage always lies in keeping the Patna airport as it is. It is ideally located. Its shifting to Bihta is not an easy job, since it also entails high court directive.

Besides, additional land can be acquired, if necessary. There will be communication problem, too, as the condition of road up to Bihta is very bad. The expansion of the Patna airport should not be made a political issue or a clash of ego between two governments. If a few trees are pruned, it will not create any major environmental problem. Madhav Sinha, ex-Congress MLC

I am in favour of shifting of Patna airport to Bihta, since the present location is not ideal for landing and takingoff of the planes. Cutting of trees will cause environmental problem. Inconvenience of the people is not more important than the environmental problem. The people will get used to Bihta airport once the Patna airport is shifted to Bihta. Chandan Sinha, BA student

Patna airport should not be shifted to Bihta. If it is shifted, fuel consumption in negotiating the distance from the main town to Bihta will increase, besides the time factor. There will be possibility of road jams in-between Patna and Bihta. Trees of the Patna zoo should be pruned, but they should not be uprooted. However, those old trees in ministers' and legislators' official residences can be uprooted, which are on the verge of decay or pose a threat during storms. Even government quarters from the eastern side of the airport can be removed for its expansion. BK Singh, businessman, Patna

Patna is not only a capital town but also a tourist spot and hence it is not proper to shift its the airport to Bihta. The Patna airport deserves to be treated and developed at par with Indira Gandhi International Airport of Delhi. Pruning of trees should be done for the safety of flights. Bihta may be developed with landing facilities for domestic flights. BB Sinha, Pataliputra Colony

Shifting of Patna airport to Bihta will not be a positive idea. Sometimes, there are traffic jams for hours near Maner and Sherpur, which may result in missing of flights. Apart from this, in addition to the military cantonment, there should be an airport both for civil and military aircraft. Big buildings, trees, New Bypass Road and railway lines are other hurdles in the expansion of the present airport, which should be done away with for the expansion of the present airport, giving it the shape of an international airport. Veena Khaitan, Boring Road, Patna

The local residents will be in extreme trouble, if the Patna airport is shifted to Bihta. Pruning and uprooting of some trees are surmountable problems. The Centre should also provide some financial assistance to Bihar to develop its Patna airport. It is the obstinacy of civil aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussain, who is more responsible for the misbehaviour meted out to chief minister Rabri Devi in an Indian Airlines flight. Now in order to settle his score with the chief minister Hussain has raised the Patna airport issue. Rajan, Shyamchak, Chapra

Shifting of Patna airport to Bihta will ensure safety of passengers and the flights, which is in the interests of the public. Public interests must not be compromised with. Certain queries that haunt me are: was the Patna airport established without taking prior notice of the runway length? Did the planes need shorter runways earlier for landing and taking off? If the runway is shorter, why was public life put at stake for so many years? Do we always need a major tragedy and subsequent inquiry to find out the lapses? An airport should not be in the heart of the main town, since it has limited scope for expansion. It causes noise pollution and puts at risk thickly-populated areas in case of an eventuality. Besides, pruning and cutting of so many trees will cause more pollution. Dr P Vikram Singh, Patna

Patna airport should not be shifted to Bihta, since Patna is the capital town. Bihta is far away from Patna town. The people will have to go all the way to Bihta from Patna to catch a flight. Rashid Hassan, B.Sc student, Gaya

Shifting of Patna airport to Bihta will help in expansion and development of the capital town. The land of the existing Patna airport could be developed in other ways to suit the existing Patna zoo. But in no case pruning of trees should be allowed, as it will increase pollution. Since there is no dearth of land at Bihta airport, it would be a better idea shift the airport to Bihta. Arun Kumar, Patna

The Patna airport should not be shifted, because lots of problems will follow the shifting process, specially with regard to the tourists coming from outside to visit Patna. Patna airport is not far away from the capital town and hence easier to reach there. Its shifting to Bihta will cause communication problems, as Bihta will be at some distance from the main town. Khursheed Alam, Darbhanga

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar holds a meeting with Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman V P Agrawal when the later called on him in Patna on Agust 27, 2009.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman V P Agrawal met Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar and discussed issues pertaining to development of Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Raxaul and Jogbani airports

"We discussed with the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about the development of our five airports in Bihar including an alternative option of having another airport in Patna near Bihta," Agrawal said.

He said that AAI was working out on other option with regard to the development of Patna airport near Bihta which belonged to the air force. Bihta airfield has a runway of 8200 feet which can be increased to 9000 feet easily making international flight operations smooth.

“We will talk with the defence authorities in this regard and seek clearance from them for handing over the airfield to us (AAI) and I don't think that there will be any difficulty for defence in giving the land," he said.