BHUBANESWAR: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has appointed Diganta Borah as the new director of Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA).
Borah will succeed incumbent director Prasanna Pradhan, who has been transferred and posted as the director of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi.
A native of Assam, Borah holds extensive experience in air traffic control (ATC) and aviation infrastructure management. He served for several years as the director of Rajkot International Airport (Hirasar) overseeing its transition to a greenfield facility, expansion efforts and the launch of cargo infrastructure.
Borah will likely assume charge next week at a time when the number of both domestic and international flights have reduced from BPIA. Within days of his assuming charge, a team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is likely to visit BPIA for three days to inspect the airport’s various operational parameters.
Official sources said the DGCA’s key focus area will be to inspect issues related to the height of a high-rise built along the airport’s funnel path.
BPIA officials alleged that in 2019, the developer had been granted top elevation of the building through an NOC for 87.37 metres but it was raised to 98.907 metres. The violation was detected on July 17 this year following an obstacle limitation survey (OLS).
“The DGCA team will examine the OLS report regarding the height of the high-rise building and suggest necessary action,” said official sources.
The team will also inspect the operational area including the runway, taxiway and apron (aircraft parking). This apart, the DGCA officials are likely to inspect the airport’s fire safety measures, electrical department, air traffic control, the last calibration date of the instrument landing system among others.