New Delhi4 minutes agoAuthor: M. Riyaz Hashmi
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Like Ahmedabad, many airports do not live up to basic security standards. DGCA rules, Airport Authority India (AAI) demands and 2019 inspection reports are all present, yet the accident occurred. It is clear that it was not only technical but also a failure of institutional and administrative levels.
The number of flights and passengers in the country is increasing, but there are serious lapses on basic points such as runway safety, buffer zone and obstacle limitation surface (OLS).
The Airport Authority had asked for 29.79 acres of land from Gujarat Sarkar R for buffer zone at Ahmedabad Airport in 2018. Its approval has also been received, but the process of getting the land is still going on.
The reason for this is that 350 families are inhabited here and removing them is politically sensitive.
There should not be a permanent construction or residential building around the runway under OLS, but Ahmedabad Airport does not meet both these standards.
Many airports do not live up to basic norms
According to DGCA’s Aerodrome Inspector Handbook and Civil Aviation Recuity (CAR), it is necessary to have a runway and safety area (RESA) ranging from 90 to 240 meters at the ends of each runway.
The study of DGCA’s annual inspection reports and airport infrastructure projects shows that many airports in the country do not meet basic parameters like Resa, OLS or land acquisition.
Cities like Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Mysore and Mangaluru have also not fulfilled the land sought for the runway expansion or security zone. Similarly, the proposal for runway expansion in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) has been stuck for years.
Shimla’s runway is just 1189 meters long
Flights have started in Hisar (Haryana), but there are problems related to OLS near taxiway and runway. In Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), along with the terminal, approach path and runway improvement are incomplete.
The runway of Shimla (Himachal) is just 1189 meters long. Neither Resa nor runway expansion is possible due to hill slopes. In Jaisalmer (Rajasthan), the runway has military-sharing use. There is no clear plan for runway expansion here.
The proposed Purandar Airport near Pune in Maharashtra has been stuck since 2016 due to opposition from farmers. Patna Airport runway is surrounded by densely populated, railway line and zoo. Neither Resa can be made here nor runway can be extended.