NORTH LAKHIMPUR, Nov 4 - The Lilabari airport in North Lakhimpur will soon become an aviation hub with the setting up of the fourth aviation training centre of the country after Prayagraj (Allahabad), Delhi and Hyderabad. This was stated by Shivanand B Benal, Airport Director, Lilabari Airport during the Advisory Committee Meeting of the airport in Lilabari airport today.
Benal said that the Airports Authority of India had requested for 25 acres of land for aviation manpower training academy at Lilabari airport and another 84 acres for expansion of runway and isolation bay. To this Dr Jeevan B, Deputy Commissioner Lakhimpur, who was present at the meeting, assured that 18.5 acre out of the 25 acre had been earmarked for aviation training academy and informed that the allocation of 56.77 acre out of the 84 acre was under process.
The Chairman of the Airport Advisory Committee and Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah informed that private airliner Air Asia will soon operate its services to Lilabari airport in North Lakhimpur connecting with Guwahati and New Delhi. The MP also said that the air service would be brought with State help for three years uninterrupted services to the region.
Airport Director Benal also informed that the Indian Oil Corporation Limited was establishing mobile refuelling station at Lilabari airport for which the AAI had allotted 900 square metres of land at the rate of Rs 1 per square metre per annum under Regional Connectivity Scheme. �This will be helpful for the scheduled, non-scheduled and defence flight operating at the airport�, said Benal. He also stated that with the availability of refuelling station and night landing facility, Air India could easily operate evening flights from Lilabari with a stopover at LGBI airport, Guwahati to Kolkata. Presently the State-owned airliner is operating a direct flight from Lilabari to Kolkata suspending its earlier Lilabari-Guwahati-Kolkata route. To this the chairman of AAC-Lilabari Pradan Baruah, MP assured governmental help.
The AAC-Lilabri meeting also discussed matters related to waste management, medical services, taxi and bus shuttle between Lilabari and Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, cargo complex etc.
