The Meghalaya High Court has directed both the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file affidavits indicating the feasibility of expanding the Umroi airport to accommodate long-haul flights including Boeing and similar bigger aircraft.
The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh passed the order today after taking up the public interest litigation (PIL) on the expansion of Umroi airport.
While the AAI has filed an affidavit indicating the development activities undertaken recently at Umroi airport, the crucial element regarding the feasibility of expanding the airport to be able to handle long-haul flights and larger aircraft has been completely missed out in the affidavit. Moreover, no affidavit has yet been filed by the DGCA on the matter.
“In the interest of the State, particularly as tourism is likely to gain momentum here, it is necessary to indicate the feasibility of expanding the Umroi airport to accommodate larger aircraft than ATRs and the cost benefit analysis in respect thereof. It is made clear that safety cannot be compromised and the international standards pertaining to the length of the runway for bigger aircraft have to be adhered to. Both the AAI and DGCA should file their affidavits dealing with such aspect of the matter,” the High Court said.
The DGCA told the High Court that it is involved more with assessing the airworthiness of aircraft, issuing licenses and monitoring the operation of flights in the country rather than being involved in the construction of any airport or the requirements therefore.
“If such is the case, the DGCA’s affidavit should indicate the same and the entire matter may rest on the assessment of the feasibility of expansion of the airport by the AAI,” the court said.
The State government informed the High Court that substantial expenses have been incurred for expanding the flat land beyond the runway on either side by cutting down the hills.
The State government also stated that further hills may have to be cut into before a safe runway can be put in place to be able to handle the Boeing and bigger aircraft.
At present, only short-haul ATR aircraft are able to land at Umroi airport and the bigger aircraft cannot land because of the shortness of the existing runway. There are regular flights operating from Kolkata and places in the North-East, including Imphal, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Lengpui, Dimapur, Silchar and Guwahati.
According to the High Court, Meghalaya has rich prospects in developing tourism. If a plan of sustained development of the tourism industry is chalked out, upon monitoring and regulating the critical parameters, the local economy may get the necessary fillip, particularly since there is no big industry in the State. The boost of tourism in the State will also result in substantial benefit to the national economy.
“In addition, since long-haul flights from up-country cities can only land at Guwahati, which is the nearest big airport, the travel time from Guwahati to Shillong is in excess of three hours and, if a person interested in coming to Shillong is able to directly land at Umroi, the travel time would be reduced to about 40 minutes. In the long run, this may be greatly beneficial apart from reducing the time required to reach Shillong,” the court observed.
