Bilaspur Airport


Bilaspur Airport is located at the village of Chakarbhatta, 10 km south of Bilaspur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is owned by the Airports Authority of India. In 1980s, airport was used by Vayudoot to provide flights to Bhopal and Delhi. Currently there is no commercial scheduled flight from the airport. It is currently being used for general aviation and pilot training. On 6 December 2018 Bilaspur Airport got the commercial licence from Directorate General of Civil Aviation for operating commercial flights.

History

Built in 1942 it opened as RAF Station Bilaspur Royal Air Force, in the Central Provinces of British India. It was used as an airfield during World War II. It was used by No 267 Squadron, No 96 Squadron, No 10 Squadron and other units. It closed in 1945. After India was grant ed independence from Great Britain, the airfield was transferred to the Indian Government. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation took control of the airport, followed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The Indian Army intends to take over the airport and establish a training facility for the special forces. The existing para-military commando training facility at Nahan, Himachal Pradesh is to be shifted to Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. The Army wants use of the entire airport while AAI has made a "conditional offer" of parting with 377 acres while retaining 56 acres for a civil enclave.

Structure

Elevation of the airfield is 276 metres above mean sea level.
Runway 17/35 is 1,535 metres long and 30 metres wide with turning pads at both ends. A 630 metre long taxiway connects the runway to a small Helipad cum apron.
The runway is too small for commercial aircraft like Boeing 737 and Airbus A 320, which need a 2,190 metres in length and 45 metres in width takeoff distance. This means many low-cost carriers like AirAsia India and GoAir, which use a single plane type, cannot serve the airport unless the runway is upgraded.