Hyderabad: In a major boost to the state govt’s plan to connect more towns in Telangana by air, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has given its ‘in principle’ approval for a civil airport in Adilabad. Recently, the govt had also got the Centre’s nod to construct an airport in Mamnoor in Warangal. Once the two are developed, along with the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, the state would have three airports.
The demand for an airport has been a long pending one in Adilabad, which has an old IAF airstrip on the town’s periphery. The town’s proximity to Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra also made it an ideal location for an airport. A major grievance of locals has been that they had to depend on airports either in Hyderabad or Nagpur.
In response to the state govt’s proposal, the ministry of defence (MoD) conveyed IAF’s approval for the project in a letter on Tuesday. The IAF said that it also planned to set up a training establishment at the airport.
“IAF considered the request and agreed ‘in principle’ to the proposal of the govt of Telangana for civil aircraft operations from Adilabad airfield… The Airports Authority of India (AAI) may be requested to submit a detailed proposal for the issuance of NoC by IAF,” IAF director Sanap Bajirao Ramnath said in the letter.
Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, announcing the approval on Wednesday, said it was due to Telangana govt’s relentless efforts that the state has got nod for two airports within a few months.
The minister said the IAF suggested developing Adilabad airport as a joint user airfield, accommodating both civil and IAF aircraft movements. The AAI has been asked to provide the required land for these developments, he said.
The minister said that officials were reviewing the next steps and will compile a comprehensive report to be submitted to the central govt soon.
He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu and CM A Revanth Reddy for their support in obtaining approvals for both Mamnoor and Adilabad airports.
