On September 24th, the state of Sikkim got its first airport at Pakyong inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It also marks the 100th airport of India.

Location

The airport is located 30km from the capital Gangtok and is around 60 km from the India-China border. Its situated on a hilltop and spread over 201 acres and is about two km from Pakyong village, at 4,500 feet above sea level.

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Operations

The Pakyong airport will start its commercial operations from the first week of October, according to the State Chief Secretary A.K. Shrivastava. Spicejet’s Bombardier Q-400 aircraft will ferry passengers to and from Sikkim, Guwahati, and Kolkata.
Under the Union government’s UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity scheme, the private carrier will operate daily direct flights between Pakyong and Kolkata from October 4 and between Pakyong and Guwahati from October 16. Pakyong is SpiceJet’s ninth destination under the scheme.

Features

The Pakyong airport’s 1.75-km runway has a width of 30 meters. The reinforcement wall of the project is 80-metre-high, one of the tallest in the world. It has a 116-meter-long taxiway connecting it to an apron measuring 106 meters by 76 meters that can simultaneously accommodate two ATR-72 aircraft. Another 75-meter stretch adjacent to the main runway is being constructed for the use of the Indian Air Force.
The airport that has a 3,000 sq meter terminal building has a capacity to handle 50 inbound and as many outbound passengers. The airport was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 605 crore

Integrated structures comprising of an ATC tower-cum-fire station, two sophisticated CFT, one terminal building for passengers, high-intensity runway lights, and parking for over 50 vehicles are some of the features of the airport, the Chief Secretary said.

“I am extremely happy to know that the maiden flight of SpiceJet to Pakyong airport landed safely,” Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling said in the Legislative Assembly, adding that it was “a momentous occasion for Sikkim and the Sikkimese people.”