Sikkim is now part of India’s aviation map as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the State’s first airport at Pakyong on September 24. This is also the 100th airport in the country.
The greenfield airport, located 30 km from capital Gangtok, will start its commercial operations from the first week of October, according to the State Chief Secretary A.K. Shrivastava. Spicejet’s Bombardier Q-400 aircraft will ferry passengers to and from Sikkim, Guwahati, and Kolkata.
Under the Union government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity scheme, the private carrier will operate daily direct flights between Pakyong and Kolkata from October 4 and between Pakyong and Guwahati from October 16. Pakyong is SpiceJet’s ninth destination under the scheme.
An inside view of the Pakyong airport tweeted by the Prime Minister's Office on Sunday.
In the absence of flights to the State, people headed for Gangtok would fly to Bagdogra airport in West Bengal’s Siliguri district, and then journey over 100 km to reach Gangtok.
Located on top of a hill
The airport is spread over 201 acres and is located on top of a hill about two km from Pakyong village, at 4,500 feet above sea level. The airport was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 605 crore and is an “engineering marvel” for its soil reinforcement and slope stabilisation techniques keeping in view the altitude it was built at, Mr. Srivastava told PTI .
Integrated structures comprising an ATC tower-cum-fire station, two sophisticated CFT, one terminal building for passengers, high-intensity runway lights, and parking for over 50 vehicles are some of the features of the airport, the Chief Secretary said.
The Pakyong airport’s 1.75-km runway has a width of 30 metres.
The reinforcement wall of the project is 80-metre-high, one of the tallest in the world, Mr. Srivastava said.
The 11th Finance Commission sanctioned Rs. 50 crore to build an airstrip in Sikkim in 2000. The State government chose Pakyong and kickstarted the process of acquiring land.
In 2006, under the UPA-1 government, the Union Cabinet’s Committee on Economic Affairs approved the construction of a greenfield airport at Pakyong with a 1,700-metre-long runway, two parking bays, and a terminal building to handle 100 passengers at a time.
The following year, the Punj Lloyd Group was awarded the contract to develop the airport.
On March 10 this year, Spicejet’s aircraft touched down in Pakyong with officials of the airline, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on board.
“I am extremely happy to know that the maiden flight of SpiceJet to Pakyong airport landed safely,” Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling said in the Legislative Assembly, adding that it was “a momentous occasion for Sikkim and the Sikkimese people.”
Situated around 60 km from India-China border
The Pakyong airport is located around 60 km from the India-China border.
The airport’s 1.75-km runway has a width of 30 metre. It has a 116-metre-long taxiway connecting it to an apron measuring 106 metre by 76 metre that can simultaneously accommodate two ATR-72 aircraft. Another 75-metre stretch adjacent to the main runway is being constructed for the use of the Indian Air Force.
The airport that has a 3,000 sq metre terminal building has a capacity to handle 50 in-bound and as many out-bound passengers.
(With inputs from PTI )
