No early air connectivity to Malda,Balurghat: AAI team

The AAI team,after its inspection of the Malda airport on Saturday,said the existing facilities were defunct and the location has become hazardous for resuming air services.

In either case – Malda and Balurghat – the earliest time frame for starting air services would be a minimum of three years,said Gautam Mukherjee, director,AAI,Eastern Region. The inspection team would submit its findings to the Chief Minister soon along with project proposals for setting up new airports.

In Malda,for instance,the existing 155-acre airfield with a runway of about 4000 meters was not ideal for running big aircrafts. The small segment aircrafts,once introduced by the Vayudoot,are no more in operation and service. The available aircrafts will require bigger airports for which the requirement of land would be close to 600 acres,said official sources.

The English Bazar municipality chairman said the old airport if not fit for operation should be handed over to the municipality and in exchange the municipality will offer a new plot of land at a place called Naldubi,about 7 km off Malda town.

In Balurghat too,the district administration was asked to identify suitable land for setting up of a new airport. The AAI team along with DGCA members would make another visit to the two districts within a month to finalize the project proposals.