Airport Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra has said that night landing facilities will be available soon in Jharsuguda airport as authorities are putting up the required infrastructure and taking up the matter with the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Dr Mohapatra has said that presently for regional connectivity services (RCS) operations, the AAI has filed aerodrome licencing application with the DGCA for day visual flight rules (VFR) ‘Public Use’ Aerodrome with Aerodrome Code3C.
However as soon as doppler very high frequency omni range (DOVR) is commissioned and instrument flight procedures are approved by the DGCA, it would facilitate night landing operations, said the senior official. For DOVR and the distance measuring equipment (DME), orders have been placed and these equipment will be installed by July, 2018, said he.
The AAI is expediting the progress of development works at the Jharsuguda airport and day- to- day monitoring by the AAI is taken up to facilitate the RCS operations from theairport. The AAI chief informed the State Government that ground lighting facility, simple abridged approach lightings at both ends of runway, runway taxi apron edge lighting, precision approach path indicator (PAPI) and appron flood lighting have already been included in the scope of development works going on for operationalising the Jharsuguda airport.
Earlier, Odisha Chief Secretary AP Padhi had urged the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to start operation of commercial flights from Jharsuguda and= provide night landing facilities there.
Chief Secretary Padhi in a letter to Union Secretary Civil Aviation RN Choubey stated that commercial flight operation from Jharsuguda would be financially viable in view of growing industrial base in the area.
Accordingly Padhi requested the Union Secretary Civil Aviation to take= up the matter with commercial airliners like Air India, IndiGo, GoAir and Air Asia for exploring introduction of regular commercial flights from the Jharsuguda airport He had also stressed on the need of regular flight operation from Jharsuguda to other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, besides Bhubaneswar, under RCS-UDAN scheme.
In a separate letter to the Chairman of AAI, Chief Secretary Padhi had sought immediate steps for provision of night landing facilities at the new airport.
If such facilities are not made, the new airport would remain underutilised and people would be deprived of benefits, the Chief Secretary pointed out in his missive.
Responding to Padhi’s letter sent to AAI Chairman, Dr Mohapatra thanked the State Government for its proactive approach in facilitating development in Jharsuguda airport and gave out details in this regard.
