May shut down Patna airport, warns ministry

New Delhi: In the aftermath of the Mangalore air crash, a safety audit conducted by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has identified 11 airports as critical. The Patna airport has turned out to be the most critical aerodrome in the country. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel is learnt to have said that the Patna airport might be shut down if the state government failed to improve its infrastructure.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has asked the state government to either relocate the critical 6,000-feet airstrip, which is fit to operate only small aircraft, or suggest ways to improve and expand the airstrip, which at the moment is a nightmare for pilots with the presence of tall trees on one side and a railway line on the other.
04/08/10 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

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Categories: airports aug 2010, Safety Aug 2010