By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In a major boost to the Shillong Airport expansion plan, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved installation of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Airport.
Informing this here on Monday, State Transport Minister, AT Mondal, said that the proposal for installation of the ILS has been sent to the Director General of Civil Aviation for clearance.
The Instrument Landing System, once installed at the Airport, would provide better visibility to flights even during bad weather and at the same time open avenues for major private airline companies to include Meghalaya in their route maps.
According to Mondal, the State Government is also pursuing the matter of setting up of a refuelling centre at the Airport.
“The Airport would get a major boost once these two proposals see the light of the day,” Mondal added.
Feeling the need to have more regular and bigger flights, the State Government last year had handed over 224 acres of land to the Airports Authority of India for expansion of the runway. The new runway will be extended to 7,500 feet from the present 6,000 feet and will be realigned with the existing runway.
The new runway will have strength of PCN 54 (Pavement Classification Number), which means that it can withstand the load and speed of bigger aircraft such as the Airbus A300.
