The Mangalore air crash on May 22 has given the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) a lot to contemplate on. After declaring 11 airports across India unfit for flight operations, the directorate has marked Khowai airport at Kolhapur as unsafe.
On June 15, the directorate declared the Khowai airport runway unsafe and suspended operations on it. According to a DGCA source, since operations at the airport become risky during monsoon, it has been decided to shut it down temporarily. “The airport is located amidst the Sahyadri hills and some lakes.
Landings and take-offs become very risky due to poor visibility
during monsoon. Moreover, even the 4,500-ft runway needs repair. So, we decided to close it,” he said.
However, this decision will inconvenience those who charter flights to Kolhapur.
“If it does not rain, the runway repair will be over within the next three days. Or else, it might be closed for a longer period,” said the source.
Kingfisher, the only airline that flew to Kolhapur, suspended its operations a few months back.
“In case people charter planes or choppers they will have to alight at airports near Kolhapur,” said Jigar Thaneshwar, senior manager, Deccan Charters. “The cost of flying to these nearby airports will be almost the same or may even be a little less.
Although the flying time is cut by 15 minutes, they will have to travel for more than one and a half hour by road to reach Kolhapur.”
The nearest airports to Kolhapur are Belgaum airport (103 km), Dabolim airport, Goa (153km) and Nanded airport (252 km).
