This story is from September 25, 2018

Pakyong takes off: Sikkim gets its first airport, the country its 100th

Pakyong takes off: Sikkim gets its first airport, the country its 100th
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the New Greenfield Airport at Pakyong, in Gangtok
GANGTOK: When the Air Force’s Mi-17V-5 helicopter took off from Pakyong airport on Monday afternoon with Narendra Modi on board, it was perhaps for the last time that an Indian Prime Minister was using a chopper to fly into and out of this Himalayan state. The next time a PM arrives in Sikkim, it will be in a twinengine, fixed-wing aircraft that will make the trip safer, faster and more predictable.

airport

The picturesque Pakyong airport that Modi inaugurated prior to departure has a 1,700-metre tabletop runway that is now certified for operations by small fixed-wing aircraft like ATR, CRJ and Bombardier aircraft and will later be upgraded to handle Airbus A-319/320 and Boeing B737-800. Located 30 km from state capital Gangtok, Pakyong will become the country’s 100th operational airport when the first scheduled flight — Spice-Jet Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 aircraft — lands there on October 4.
“With Pakyong, we have hit a century,” Modi declared, after inaugurating the 100th operational airport in the country. “In 67 years since Independence, we had just 65 airports, less than one airport per year. In the past four years, we have added 35 new airports at the rate of nine airports a year,” he said. Civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu later added that the next 100 airports would be added in 10-15 years.
Prior to Modi, Manmohan Singh, and before him Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had also flown in and out of Sikkim on helicopters. And officers of Special Protection Group in charge of PM’s security have on these occasions hoped that nothing went wrong. For a chopper ride in fickle weather amidst the mountains is not really a proposition that one looks forward to. Earlier this year, vicepresident Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to the state was cancelled as the weather had suddenly become too treacherous for helicopters to land. Flight operations will still be a challenge during monsoon but not so at other times of the year.

For Sikkim’s citizens and travellers and tourists to the state, the 75-minute flight from Kolkata will cut down on commute time and expense. Till now, one had to take a 10-and-a-half-hour train journey to New Jalpaiguri or an hour’s flight to Bagdogra and then drive down NH-10 for four hours to reach Gangtok. From October 16, a flight will commence between Pakyong and Guwahati.
The airport also frees the state from the vulnerability of blockades during statehood agitations in Darjeeling. Last year, a four-month shutdown had left Sikkim frustrated with chief minister Pawan Chamling demanding special allowance for vehicles bound for his state.
Civil aviation secretary RN Choubey emphasised the importance of Pakyong airport that has put Sikkim on the aviation map.
“With one or two daily flights, Pakyong airport will not be economically viable. But we are not looking at the viability factor. We will maintain the airport with available funds as it is important for Sikkim and vital for its connectivity and economic growth opportunity,” he said.
For a state where tourism is the largest revenue-generator, the airport will be a boon. "Since travel to Sikkim will be easier now, we hope to attract more high-end tourists,” a leading travel operator in Gangtok said. The airport could also be a concern for the travel trade in Darjeeling as some tourists could now bypass the hill station and fly to Gangtok directly.
Constructed on a mountain top that was shaved to build the runway (1,700-m long and 30-m wide) at an altitude of 4,500 ft above sea level, the 201 acre airport has been constructed at a cost of Rs 605 crore. With the terminal capacity at 5 lakh passengers per annum, the airport can handle 17 small regional jets in a day.
Recounting the realization of an 18-year wait for the airport, Sikkim chief secretary AK Shrivastava said the greenfield airport was first conceived in 2000 when chief minister Chamling approached the finance commission, following which a token sum was allocated. Vice-president Krishna Kant had laid the foundation stone in 2002 but actual work started much later in 2009. The proposed date of completion of airport was 2012 but was pushed to February-March 2018.
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