Upgraded Belagavi airport to open on September 14

Belagavi: The new look, renovated Belagavi airport with its many improved facilities is expected to be inaugurated on September 14. With its runway now extended to 2,300 meters as part of its upgradation, bigger aircraft will be able to  land at the airport in future.

Airport director, Rajesh Kumar Maurya, reveals the decision  to inaugurate the new upgraded airport was taken on Tuesday evening as it was almost ready for commercial operation with work on the new apron, ATC tower, technical blocks, taxiway, isolation bay, and instrumental landing system having been completed. Only the localiser and glide path will take a year to get ready, according to him.

 The airport will have hi tech equipment that could help in the event of a hijacking and also provide safety to aircrafts in adverse conditions. An instrumental landing system for aircrafts  is on the verge of completion too.

The Civil Aviation Ministry decided to upgrade Belagavi airport a few years ago owing to the rising number of passengers and under pressure from leaders of North Karnataka. Besides bigger aircraft, the airport will be able to handle cargo flights as well. So far, the airport has  been offering only one or two flights to Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai despite the rush of passengers. But now Belagavi will be connected to many big cities across the country in the next few months. 

Executive Director of the Airport Authority of India(AAI), G Sreekumar , who  inspected the new facilities at the airport, has suggested the appointment of a tourist information officer in its grounds to help new arrivals in the region.