Lengpui Airport

Lengpui Airport
Aizawl Airport
लेंगपुई हवाई अड्डा
IATA: AJL – ICAO: VELP
Summary
Airport type Indian Public
Owner Indian Government
Operator Indian Government. of India/Airports Authority of India
Serves Aizawl
Location Aizawl, Mizoram, India
Elevation AMSL 1,328.4 ft / 405 m
Coordinates 23°50′18.39″N 092°37′13.29″E / 23.8384417°N 92.6203583°E / 23.8384417; 92.6203583
Map
AJL

Location of the airport in India

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 8,200 2,500 Asphalt

Lengpui Airport (IATA: AJL, ICAO: VELP) is an domestic airport in Aizawl, Mizoram, India.

The airport is connected by daily flights with Kolkata and Guwahati and three flights a week with Imphal and is located at a distance of 32 km from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. Lengpui Airport is the first large airport in the country to be built by the State Government.

History

The airport was constructed at a cost of ₹ 97.92 crores [1] and was completed in a record time of two years and two months. The construction work started in December 1995 and completed in February 1998. The Airport is expected to be able to cater to 300 incoming and outgoing passengers.[2] Before the construction of this airport, Aizawl was 130 km (81 mi) from the nearest railway head at Bairabi and 205 km (127 mi) from the nearest airport at Silchar. With regards to land acquisition it has been found out that about 65 percent of the area acquired, belonged to some high government officials and political leaders at Aizawl who started buying plots from people in Lengpui village at very low prices. They then donated the land to the government for the airport for which the rich persons got much more compensation as donors than the actual farmers.[3] Previously, Lengpui was also served by Air Deccan which later became Kingfisher Red but the airlines stopped operating from Lengpui on April 2012.

Technical details

The 2,500 metre runway of the Lengpui airport is unique in that it has many hilly streams running underneath.[4] The airport is one among the three airports in India that has a table top runway (others being Kozhikode and Mangalore)[5] which creates an optical illusion that requires a very precise approach from the pilot.[6] At present, Lengpui Airport has installed Cat-I Instrument Landing System.[7] which will help planes land safely during low visibility conditions.[8] A Runway safety area[9] and Isolation parking bay are also under construction plan.[10] The Indian Air Force is planning to station at least 4 jet fighters at Lengpui airport.[11] Indian Oil handles the Aviation fuel service department of lengpui airport.

First trial flight for Lengpui Airport
Lengpui airport terminal building

Incidents and accidents

On 4 May 2011, a Northeast Shuttle's Cessna Caravan (VT-NES) crash landed at Lengpui airport, overshooting the runway. While there were no fatalities, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off. The officials at Lengpui airport attributed the mishap to rainfall coupled with strong winds reducing visibility during landing.[12] However, the DGCA enquiry reported the cause of the accident to be "inadequate skill level of the pilot to execute a safe landing during marginal weather conditions". The pilot had failed to execute a stabilized approach. As a consequence the aircraft touched down well past the runway threshold, overshot the runway and fell into a ravine. The overshoot was a consequence of the pilot choosing to continue with the unstable approach, rather than going around to divert or make another approach. The DGCA also held the operator responsible for not ensuring that the pilot met the minimum regulatory requirements of the DGCA. The pilot was not cleared as per DGCA regulations to operate in airports situated in hilly terrain. The regulator also observed that the availability of a runway end safety area (RESA) and a functioning instrument landing system (ILS) would have increased the safety margin at the airport.[13]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air IndiaImphal, Kolkata
Jet AirwaysDelhi, Guwahati, Kolkata
SpiceJet Guwahati, Kolkata

References

  1. ↑ "Advani inaugurates Lengpui airport". NENA NEWS. December 22, 1998 – January 6, 1999. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "LENGPUI AIRPORT". Mizoram PWD. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Pranami, Garg. "Lengpui Airport: The Veiled and The Real Victims". Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Lengpui Airport safe for passenger flights, claims Aviation Wing". mizo news. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Indian skies are safe for flying: Kanu Gohain, Ex-Director General, DGCA". The Economic Times. 2010-05-23. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  6. ↑ "Tabletop runway creates an optical illusion, says pilot". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2010-05-23.
  7. ↑ "LENGPUI AIRPORT ILS". DIPR Mizoram. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  8. ↑ PTI. "Now, planes can land in Mizoram in low light condition". Sify News. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Sarma, Pankaj. "Panel for safer runway at Lengpui". Telegraph India. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Kingfisher leh Air India ten Mizoram sum nuai 117 an ba". The Zozam Times. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "IAF-in Lengpui Airport-ah Jet Fighter 4 dah an dil". The Zozamtimes. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  12. ↑ "Cessna aircraft crash landed at Mizoram airport, 9 injured". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  13. ↑ "Final Investigation Report" (PDF). Directorate General of Civil Aviation (India). Retrieved 20 August 2014.
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