The Meghalaya High Court has asked the state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to conclude their inspection of Shillong Airport within the next couple of months in order to assess the feasibility of extending the runway.
During a recent hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before a bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice B Bhattacharjee, the AAI informed that they had already submitted a cost estimate for this endeavor to the state government. However, the state government has not yet responded.
The bench has expressed the hope that both the AAI and the state government will collaborate to finalize the necessary inspection within the next couple of months. They have directed that the matter will be revisited after a period of 10 weeks.
On October 15, the Minister in-charge of Transport, Sniawbhalang Dhar, informed that the state government is eagerly awaiting the feasibility report, which will determine whether larger aircraft can operate from Umroi Airport. Dhar explained that the new consultants have requested a two-month period to submit this report, and the government’s decision will depend on the findings of this report.
Furthermore, Dhar expressed the government’s desire to enhance the current airport’s capabilities to accommodate larger aircraft.
On August 10, the AAI had informed the Court that a survey would be conducted at Umroi Airport to assess the feasibility of operating wider-bodied aircraft from the airport.
