Vidarbha will soon have its second fully operational airport in Amravati. With this, the city will have air connectivity with Mumbai next year if all goes according to the Rs110 crore expansion plan. The new airstrip at Belora, 15 km from Amravati, was designed by the Public Works Department in 1992.
Gaurav Upshyam, Amravati Airport Director of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), said work is underway to extend the runway.” At present, the length of the runway is 1,300 meters. We are expanding it to 1,850 meters, ideal for small aircraft such as ATR 72. Upon expansion, aircraft with a capacity of 72 or 90 seats will be able to operate from Amravati. The length of the runway for Boeing 737 or Airbus 320 aircraft is more than 3,000 meters, “TOI said. Upshyam also said that the tender for the construction of the terminal building had been floated and would be ready after a year.
“Amravati was visited by a team of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on the technical side. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) team is expected to audit the airport. Before starting operations, we will need a green signal from these two authorities, “he added.
Alliance Air has already agreed to operate an air service to Mumbai. The SpiceJet team also visited the airport. Upshyam said that there would also be talks with other clubs.
Now, only chartered aircraft are used at the airport. The airport was initially spread over an area of 74.86 hectares. Later, another 336 acres were handed over to MADC for expansion in January 2015.
The airstrip was taken over by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) in August 1997 and eventually passed to MADC. It was supposed to be handed over to the Indian Airports Authority (AAI), but the state government changed its mind.
The Nagpur Flying Club had applied to DGCA for permission to move its flight operations to Amravati airport, but the club had closed down and therefore the transfer had not taken place.
Amravati airport was included under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) and central government national connectivity schemes in 2019. The need for an operating airport in the city is strong.
