Aircraft with 72 seats can now land on the Bilaspur airport. Bilaspur airport is located out of the city in Chakarbhatha area of the district. The airport has now been upgraded from 2C to 3C certification. 2C category airports can allow 40 seater aircraft to land at its runway. But with 3C certification, the seat count increases to 3C. The 3C certification was provided to the Bilaspur airport upon inspection by the Director-General office of the Civil Aviation department. The same was confirmed by the state's Chief Minister (CM), Bhupesh Bhagel — more details on the story ahead.
Bilaspur Airport Gets Upgraded to 3C Category
Bilaspur airport has been upgraded to 3C category, and the CM of Chattisgarh has confirmed it. The state government said, "With the operation of 72-seater aircraft, the people of entire North Chhattisgarh including Bilaspur will get great facilities, and their air connectivity with the whole country will get strengthened.”
आप सभी को बताना चाहूंगा कि अब छत्तीसगढ़ की न्यायधानी बिलासपुर के बिलासा बाई केवटिन एयरपोर्ट में 72 सीटर विमान भी उतर सकेंगे।
बिलासपुर के एयरपोर्ट का उन्नयन अब 3 सी कैटेगरी में हो गया है। ??
— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) January 27, 2021
For years now, air connectivity in Chattisgarh is only limited to Raipur, capital of the state. Bilaspur airport has been there for decades, but the state government hasn’t paid much attention to it. Getting a 3C certificate is a small victory for the Bilaspur airport. But the long battle of converting into a full-blown domestic airport is still something that will take a lot of time. Thus, it is still a long wait before Bilaspur can get an operational domestic airport.
However, even this small victory can benefit Chattisgarh a lot. More business people and officers will now be able to travel to Bilaspur through private jets and smaller aircraft. This will also increase the access to medical facilities present in the metro cities of the country.
As mentioned above, Bilaspur airport has been there for several years now. The only thing that’s required is infrastructure. The runway can be expanded, and with better infrastructure, there is enough space for it to become an operational domestic airport. But the state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) need to take faster actions and realise the dream of many people living in the city to get quick and easy air travel access.
