HYDERABAD: The wait for an airport for the people of Warangal gets longer as the Telangana government is yet to hand over land to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) as part of the land acquisition plan for the development of an airport in Mamnoor in Warangal district, according to an RTI filed on the status of the airport.
Presently, 737.02 acres of land is available with the AAI for the Warangal airport and the land proposed to be acquired for the development of Warangal airport is another 443 acres in two phases, the RTI said.No land has been transferred to the AAI by the Telangana government in the proposed land acquisition plan, said AAI in the RTI.
When asked whether the proposed runway is capable of operating the ‘787’ or the ‘777’ types of aircraft, the AAI said the runway is proposed for the operation of A-320 and the B-737 types of aircraft. Both A-320 and B-737 are narrow-body aircraft by Airbus and Boeing, respectively, and can accommodate around 140 seats.
In fact, the Warangal airport with more than one terminal was the largest during the pre- Independence era, spread over 1,875 acres of land, and consisting of quarters for the pilot and staff and a pilot training centre. It was built in 1930 with a two-km-long runway and was commissioned by the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, along with another one at Solapur, to boost the paper industry at Kagaznagar and the Azam Zahi Mills at Warangal.
Moreover, this airport provided the landing facility for high-profile leaders until 1981, and during the Indo-China war, it served as a hangar for government aircraft as the Delhi airport was the target of the enemy. This apart, many cargo and Vayudoot services also used it as their base. At present, the airport has become defunct.
Meanwhile, not even a single airport has been developed in Telangana under the regional airport development programme, called the UDAN scheme, in the last six years. Telangana has proposed the development of airports at Jakranpally (Nizamabad), Palvoncha (Bhadradri-Kothagudem), Mahbubnagar, Mamnoor, (Warangal), Basanth Nagar (Peddapalli) and Adilabad. However, none of them was identified for revival/upgradation under UDAN.