Gaya International Airport runway to be extended

The State government also promised to transfer over 100 acres of land, which is in the process of acquisition, to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for extension of the international airport at Gaya.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar conveyed this to V P Agrawal during a two-hour meeting they had at the CM’s secretariat at 4, Deshratna Marg here.

“Operating international flights will become easier after the Gaya airport runway is extended to 9,000 feet,” Agrawal said, adding regular Haj flights may be introduced from Gaya after the runway extension.

Agrawal said the proposal airport in Bhagalpur has for now been shelved due to congested inhabitation there.

Nitish and Agrawal had a detailed discussions on AAI’s airports and aerodromes in Bihar. The issue of extra land for Raxaul and Muzaffarpur aerodromes was also discussed.

Apart from airports at Patna and Gaya, there are aerodromes at Raxaul, Muzaffarpur and Jogbani.

There are 29 airports, aerodromes and airstrips in Bihar. Of them, 18 are under the state government, five under the defence ministry and five under the AAI. There’s also a private aerodrome at Kursela.link

New airport at Bihta

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to shift the Patna airport to Bihta and planning to approach the defence ministry for their nod for this.

“We hope there shouldn’t be any problem,” AAI chairman V P Agrawal said.

Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport at Patna runway length is only 5,500 feet as against the 9,000 feet required for operating international flights.

Agrawal said the extension of the Patna Airport was not possible because of hindrances such as the adjacent railway line and the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park.

“One option before us is the IAF air-base at Bihta, and we are concentrating on it with a proposal to develop it into a civil enclave on 300 to 500 acres of land,” he said.

Agrawal said the Bihta air base has a 8,200-foot runway which can be extended up to 9,000 feet.link