Raebareli Airport

Raebareli Airport
रायबरेली एअरपोर्ट
رائے بریلی ہوائی اڈا
Indira Gandhi National Aviation Academy (IGRUA)
इंदिरा गाँधी राष्ट्रीय उड़ान अकेडमी
Fursatganj Airfield
IATA: none – ICAO: VERB
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airports Authority of India
Location Fursatganj, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India
Elevation AMSL 359 ft / 109 m
Coordinates 26°14′55″N 81°22′48″E / 26.2485°N 81.3801°E / 26.2485; 81.3801Coordinates: 26°14′55″N 81°22′48″E / 26.2485°N 81.3801°E / 26.2485; 81.3801
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
6,118 1,865 Asphalt

Raebareli Airport (Hindi: रायबरेली एअरपोर्ट, Urdu: رائے بریلی ہوائی اڈا‎) known as Indira Gandhi National Aviation Academy(IGRUA) (Hindi: इंदिरा गाँधी राष्ट्रीय उड़ान अकेडमी) aka Fursatganj Airfield is an airfield situated at Fursatganj of Raebareli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi is a flight training school established in 1986 and co-located with the airfield under the government of India.[1]

Consideration of a new world class civil aviation university

Rahul Gandhi rather than any other of the civil aviation officials announced the much-awaited venue of the civil aviation university, which till date was a mystery. Addressing a public function at Fursatganj in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi surprised everyone by his announcement, proposing that Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University would be built at Fursatganj with an aim to give better training facilities to the pilots. He also announced the expansion of Fursatganj airport, so that farmers' produce can be exported. The announcement was made at a function to mark the 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi National Aviation Academy (IGRUA), a premier academy of pilot training in India, where Vayalar Ravi was also present. On October 17, during the International Civil Aviation Conference in Mumbai, Ravi had announced the plans for the university. Since then, he is believed to be pitching hard for the institution to come to his home turf. MiD DAY had reported ('Kerala to host world class aviation school', Oct 19) that during discussions for the project, debates supported that the university should be located between northern and western India, but the aviation minister was of a view that the university must be established in Kerala.[2]

Official confirmation

Talking to MiD DAY, Nasim Zaidi, union civil aviation secretary, said, Yes, it has been decided that the university would be built at Fursatganj in UP and its campus will be close to IGRUA at Fursatganj airfield. Despite repeated attempts, Ravi remained unavailable for comment. In order to minimise the scarcity of aviation professionals in the country, the Civil Aviation Ministry mooted the idea of the first aviation university.[2]

Proposed extension of the airport

The aviation ministry has decided that Airports Authority of India will extend the 6,000-ft-long runway at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Acedemy (IGRUA) at Rae Bareli to make it fit for bigger jets. And AAI will also construct a passenger terminal to have an airport to replace what is only a flying academy now.[3]

Extension of runway

The decision was taken at IGRUA in a meeting that Rahul had with then aviation minister Vayalar Ravi ( Ajit Singh, also from UP, was sworn in as aviation minister on Sunday), aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and other top officials. The runway is currently 6,000 ft which will be extended to 7,500 ft and then 9,000 ft in the second stage, said sources.[3]

Estimated cost

The estimated cost for the 7,500-ft runway and terminal is Rs 150 crore and it will cost another Rs 100 crore for expanding it, said sources. While a proposal for funding this would be sent to the Planning Commission, aviation authorities estimate that about 350 acres would be needed. The move is expected to lead to economic development - and rich political harvest - as Rae Bareli could become the fifth city in UP to have an airport after Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra and Kanpur.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi, Government of India, archived from the original on 21 July 2011, retrieved 1 September 2011
  2. 1 2 "Fursatganj to get aviation university". Mid Day, 2011-12-19, Place: Rae Bareli.
  3. 1 2 3 "Commercial airport planned in Sonia's hub before Greater Noida". Times of India, Saurabh Sinha, TNN Dec 19, 2011, 04.30AM IST. 2011-12-19.
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