Patna and Jammu runways most critical: Aviation minister

New Delhi: Patna and Jammu, both nightmarish landing strips for pilots, have emerged as the most critical among 11 airports in an evaluation by the aviation ministry in the aftermath of the Mangalore crash last month.
The runway in both these busy airports is shorter than Mangalore’s (8,000ft), with no room for error or emergency.
The Patna strip runway is so constrained that authorities fear a Mangalore-like situation could mean the plane breaching the boundary wall and ramming a train as a railway line is just beyond the 6,000ft runway. The aviation ministry is set to ask the Bihar government to act fast on its advice to shift the airport.
Jammu has a longer runway, at 6,700 feet, but aircraft have to negotiate a sharp turn on approach. A longer turn could mean entering Pakistani airspace just 6 nautical miles away.
Post-Mangalore crash, the aviation ministry has identified 11 airports where the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sent teams for inspection as critical. These airports are: Leh, Kullu, Shimla, Port Blair, Agartala, Lengpui, Calicut, Mangalore, Latur, Jammu and Patna — the last two the most critical.
Most of these airports are situated in difficult terrain where extending the runway is next to impossible.
07/06/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jun 2010, Safety Jun 2010