India / Kushinagar Int'l Airport has longest runway in UP, can handle 8 flights an hour

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated an international airport in Uttar Pradesh Kushinagar, giving a major boost to Buddhist tourism circuit. The airport will put this town in east UP on global aviation map, and serve as a hub of connectivity for many other small towns in the region.

With a length of 3.2 kilometres, the Kushinagar airport has the longest runway in Uttar Pradesh, reported Hindustan Times' sister publication Livehindustan. It is 45 metres wide.

The airport apron will be able to accommodate four big aircraft, Livehindustan further said.

Ambassadors of India's neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Thailand, where Buddhism is practiced by a majority of people, hailed the inauguration of the airport in Kushinagar, saying the move will benefit their respective citizens who plan to come to the city where Lord Buddha is believed to have attained Mahaparinirvana.

The airport has the capacity to handle eight flights every hour (four arrivals and four departures), Livehindustan reported. The peak passenger capacity of the airport is 300 passengers per hour.

The government is working towards starting night operations too, Livehindustan further reported.

The Kushinagar airport has been constructed at a cost of ₹260 crore; its passenger terminal is spread across 3,600 square kilometres.

Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was also present at the inauguration event, said that Kushinagar airport will connect Buddhist pilgrim sites. He announced a direct Delhi-Kushinagar flight from November 26, and said Mumbai and Kolkata will be connected soon.

Soon after the announcement, SpiceJet said in a release that flights on the Delhi-Kushinagar-Delhi sector will operate four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Scindia also said that as many as 54 new airports have come up in the last seven years.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, meanwhile, said that the state government is working on 11 airports, including two international airports at Ayodhya and Gautam Buddh Nagar.