Patna airport faces safety risks amid urban sprawl & natural obstacles

Time of India

6 hours ago

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Patna: The tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad has rekindled long-standing fears over the precarious nature of operations at Patna's Jayprakash Narayan International Airport, a facility so tightly hemmed in by urban sprawl and natural constraints that even seasoned pilots concede it offers almost no margin for error.
Tucked between the lush, wildlife-rich Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park (better known as Patna zoo) to the east and the railway corridor of Phulwarisharif to the west, the airport is, by all accounts, flying on the edge. Its geographical squeeze is more than a cartographic inconvenience – it is a hazard. Short runways, tall trees, electric cables, a looming British-era clock tower and erratic light sources such as DJ laser beams during weddings all conspire to make every landing and take-off a potential challenge.
"The airport is surrounded by thick settlement, making it one of the most challenging for take-offs and landings," an aviation official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The short runway only adds to the difficulty," he added.
Despite being operationally critical for Bihar, the airport continues to run on borrowed time. Runway expansion has long been discussed, but actual action remains elusive. In the wake of the June 12 AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which sent shockwaves across the country, officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the district administration inspected Patna airport to examine possibilities for runway extension.
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A proposal has been drawn up yet again, but those on the ground remain sceptical.
"We have heard promises before," said an airport official. "But the challenges we face demand more than paperwork and inspections," he added.
Standing at 49.5 metres tall, the iconic clock tower near the Old Secretariat, built in 1917, poses a major hurdle for approaching aircraft. "It eats into our usable runway length," said Krishna Mohan Nehra, Patna's airport director.
While the runway officially stretches 2,072 metres, pilots are forced to work with only 1,938 metres from the east and just 1,677 metres from the west due to the tower's presence.
Nehra said the tower disrupts the standard three-degree landing approach, forcing aircraft to descend at steeper angles of up to 3.5 degrees which is risky, especially in poor weather. The Airport Environment Management Committee (AEMC), chaired by divisional commissioner Chandrashekhar Singh, has recommended reducing the tower's height by 17.5 metres.
The proposal now awaits cabinet secretariat approval.
"Pilots often have to go around again due to incorrect approach angles caused by the tower," an official added.
Patna's airstrip is nearly 750 feet shorter than the 2,300 metres recommended by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for safe operation of commercial jets like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. In fact, Patna was one of four airports flagged in 2010 by the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council (CASAC) for critical safety limitations.
The latest expansion proposal includes acquiring 37 acres to the east – 15 acres of which belong to the Patna zoo – and 200 metres of land towards the west, near the railway line in Phulwarisharif. District officials are eyeing sites near the Patna Golf Club to compensate the zoo for any lost land.
Rajender Singh Lahauria, former airport director, supports the relocation of the zoo altogether. "The zoo director back then felt the airport operations were affecting animal breeding.
Shifting the zoo and govt bungalows would make runway extension viable," he said.
However, Lahauria cautioned that western expansion won't benefit landing distances due to the railway traction lines but could help with take-offs. "The real game-changer would be reducing the clock tower's height, but historically the AAI hasn't received a positive response from the state," he added.
Lahauria said in 2016, a proposal was sent at his time to reduce the clock tower height by 11.5-m and land acquisition for runway extension, but nothing was done.
Arvind Kumar Singh, secretary of Patna Golf Club, said they have a lease of 102.8acres of land out of which 20acres is "encroached" by zoo. "The club does not in any way interfere with flight safety funnel. Golf Club has been declared as a green belt with multiple heritage trees of over 70/80 years old. The Golf Club has given national level golfers creating a good image of emerging Bihar. We have plans to further upgrade the facility but if they take another 15-acre land, then how can we do it?" he asked.
According to AAI officials, even the western extension is fraught with problems. "We can only extend by 120 metres towards Phulwarisharif. But even that will be largely unusable. There must be at least 150 metres between the runway's centreline and the railway track. Currently, we only have 70 metres and an extension would reduce it to just 39," one official said. High-tension wires along the railway line further complicate the possibility of creating a slope.
Efforts to move the railway line underground were ruled out after a RITES feasibility study. "There is simply no scope westward," the official said.
The eastern approach is equally complex. "When pilots land from the east, the first thing they see are tree canopies, not the runway," another official said. "Beyond the zoo, new multi-storey buildings could emerge as future obstructions. We have only surveyed within our jurisdiction, but even now, we can't use the full 2,072 metres," he added.
Tree growth at the zoo poses a persistent safety threat. Regular pruning, officials say, is either delayed or ignored. At a recent AEMC meeting, the airport director stressed the urgency of compliance with the Obstacle Limitation Survey under the Aircraft Act, 1934. The forest department has been instructed to take immediate action.
"Tree growth is natural, and so should be its management," said Arvind Dubey, former director of the airport.
"We need the state's cooperation to ensure aircraft safety. Passenger facilities have improved, but operational safety must follow," he added.
Another growing concern is the menace of laser lights from wedding venues. On April 17 this year, an IndiGo flight (6E-653) from Pune was temporarily blinded by a DJ laser beam during its approach to Patna. While the pilot managed a safe landing, the potential consequences could have been catastrophic.
Following the incident, authorities banned laser lights in the airport vicinity, requiring prior police clearance for DJs and sound systems at public events. Yet enforcement remains patchy.
"Laser distractions during peak wedding season can be fatal," airport officials said.
Though bird-hit incidents have decreased due to tighter controls on open meat and fish shops in Phulwarisharif, danger still looms large, thanks to the nearby garbage transfer station at Gardanibagh.
Only 800 metres from the airport, the site attracts birds and poses a serious threat.
Divisional commissioner Singh said that a new dumping site is being constructed at Yarpur and is expected to be operational by Aug 15. "Proper waste disposal near the airport is crucial for safety," he said.
This year, Patna airport has already reported seven bird-hit incidents, three of which occurred in May alone.
The Ahmedabad crash also revived haunting memories of Patna's own aviation tragedy.
On July 17, 2000, Alliance Air flight 7412 ploughed through a residential colony in Gardanibagh, killing over 60 people.
Naveen Singh, a local, still remembers it vividly. "I was at the airport when it happened. I rushed to the site. It's an image I can't erase," he said.
Akhilesh Choudhary, a 62-year-old resident of Gardanibagh, said, "The sound of aircraft engines still fills us with dread. After Ahmedabad, those old fears have returned.
The authorities must take action for us and for the pilots."
Ultimately, many aviation experts believe that only a greenfield airport can address Patna's aviation challenges comprehensively. "We are working within impossible constraints," said an AAI official. "The land is limited, the obstructions are permanent and the risks are real," he added.