MPs Haneefa Jan, Mian Altaf raise issue of airport in Kargil

Kargil , Aug 1: Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan today said that the Government of India is interested in opening an airport in Kargil district of Ladakh Union territory for civilian interest, however, the challenges are being faced due to the difficult terrain .

He stated this in the Lok Sabha. The Minister was responding to a question by Member of Parliament (MP) Ladakh Mohammad Haneefa Jan, seeking an airport in Kargil district of Ladakh. Naidu told the house that the government of India has always been interested of opening an airport in Kargil with civilian interest. “We want civilians to have access to air connectivity from Kargil. However the difficult terrain is posing challenges for this development. Though though a thorough inspection has been conducted to the sites proposed by the Ladakh administration . However, the terrain is challenging and difficult to operate from those (proposed) sites (in Ladakh), “he said.

The minister told the house that the region presently has a defence airport. However, the use of the airport for civil operations was also considered, the civil aviation minister held. He further pointed to the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) observation stipulating that it is difficult to operate narrow body airports. The Civil Aviation Minister enumerated that the existing airport could handle 19-seater aircrafts only New Delhi. “ A multi-disciplinary team comprising officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Indian Air Force and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had visited sites at Wakha Kargil, Turtuk, Diskit, Nyoma and Padum/Zanskar in 2021 for examining the feasibility of these sites for construction of airports in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

“However, none of the sites were found suitable for airport construction,” Naidu said. In addition, on the request of the Ladakh Administration, the minister said AAI engaged the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to explore the feasibility of operating Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft at the Kargil airport. “ICAO’s study observed that operation of such aircrafts is not feasible in the existing airstrip,” he noted. He said that the government is making all efforts to start civilian flight services to Kargil and only 19-seater aircraft can be operated to the airport there.

Member of Parliament and National Conference leader Mian Altaf Ahmad also raised the issue of an airport in Kargil as the people face hardships particularly in winters when the Ladakh region is disconnected from rest of the country due to the closure of the vital road links. He sought union minister’s personal intervention into the matter.