Malda: The Airports Authority of India has ruled out the re-opening of the airport in Malda because of the large number of high-rises and mobile phone towers that have come up in the vicinity.
A three-member AAI team headed by the executive director of the eastern region, Goutam Mukherjee, visited the airstrip here yesterday. He said the biggest impediment to the operation of flights was the tall structures that dotted the vicinity of the airport.
“Under no circumstances can we give the go-ahead for the services from here. There are tall buildings, mobile telephone towers and high-tension wires around the airport,” said Mukherjee.
AAI sources said rules stipulated that no structures above the height of 33 feet should be constructed within a 2km radius of an airport.
“Several buildings with a height of more than 33 feet have come up in the area, along with tall chimneys stacks. These are all safety hazards for an aircraft’s landing and take-off,” said an AAI official. “The Englishbazar civic body had been told about the norms. Still, they gave the permission for such structures.”
The airstrip had been set up in Malda in 1987 for Vayudoot services.
But the flight operations had to be terminated within a year as there were not enough passengers to make the service viable.
21/08/11 The Telegraph
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