Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has announced that the civil enclave at Darbhanga Airport will be ready by October 2020. The daily commercial flights to Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru will start under Udan Scheme (Uday Desh Ka Aam Nagrik). The construction work has been stopped due to coronavirus lockdown at Darbhanga airport but, it resumes soon. It is instructed to continue work soon and complete by October 2020 as all work is started. So, we can say that some more time is needed to start commercial flights out of the town.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested the Indian Air Force to allow the construction of the Civil Enclave on the Darbhanga Airbase. The terminal building, which can handle up to 150 passengers per day, is almost complete. While the Indian Air Force is responsible for the carpet work of the airstrip and the Airports Authority of India is working hard on the terminal building. The airport has been built over an area of 15 thousand square feet at the cost of Rs 92 crore. You will see three check-in counters and two aprons at Darbhanga airport as it starts services. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated Darbhanga Airport in the presence of the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha on 24 December 2018.
The Darbhanga Airport is known as the name of poet Kokil Vidyapathi in Bihar, India. It has the longest runway in Bihar and is in a position to handle the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. It is located 6 km from the Darbhanga bus stand. It is approximately the NH-57 North-South and East-West Corridor Expressway, which passes through Darbhanga. It is well connected by roads, and over bridges is built to support the superflow of traffic in Darbhanga.
UDAN-Scheme
Earlier, the airport was under the Indian Air Force, but the Ministry of Defense permitted the use of the runway for commercial flights. For this purpose, the Airport Authority is investing around Rs 100 crore under the Indian State Udaan Scheme. As runway strengthening is in full swing and Port cabin is under construction, which will serve as a short-term terminal building. Under the Udan Scheme-2, SpiceJet received the Letter of Award from Darbhanga for its contributions to New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai. Seven flights per week, including 40 RCS seats, will cost a maximum of Rs. 3199.
The Airport Authority of India has opened the temporary terminal building, taxi track, and hence the apron area, runway, and technical works from 24th December 2018. The Government of India has already sanctioned about Rs 100 crore for this project. The AAI has also introduced the acquisition of 31 additional acres of land from the Air Force Station at Darbhanga. This is good news for people living in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, and many other districts of Bihar.
