The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is keen to open the aerodrome at Behala in Kolkata to chartered and corporate flights. According to a report in Times of India, Gautam Mukherjee, Regional Executive Director, AAI (Eastern region) said work on erecting the boundary wall around the 210-acre aerodrome had already begun and the fair-weather tarmac had been upgraded to an all-weather one in the run-up to utilising the facility better.

“Senior executives of many corporate firms use small aircraft, either company owned or on hire, to travel between cities. At present, these small aircraft land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport where large aircraft of scheduled airlines also operate. We plan to create the requisite infrastructure at Behala so that smaller planes can operate without interfering with the schedules of regular carriers,” Mukherjee explained.

Apart from corporate planes, Behala will also welcome chartered flights of non-scheduled operators like Deccan Charter that uses small aircraft. “The current runway at Behala is 3,100 feet long. We intend to add 900 feet so that the runway length increases to 4,000 feet. That will enable most small-sized aircraft to operate. However, operations can happen only during the day and when visibility is good because there is no instrument landing system or runway lights at the aerodrome,” stated Mukherjee.

At the existing tower at Behala, AAI plans to install Non-Directional Beacons (NDB) and Very High Frequency (VHF) radio that will enable visually-aided operations. A hut-type, low-cost terminal building is also proposed. The aerodrome at Behala currently houses two flight training institutes that are non-operational. While one belongs to the West Bengal transport department, the other is owned by private party, Camillia. A third player, TransBharat Aviation, has set up a hangar and applied to Directorate General of Civil Aviation for permission to conduct flight training at the facility.

Three years ago, Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel had laid the foundation stone for a Rs 50-crore upgrade of Behala aerodrome with the intent to begin commercial operations from there in a year and a half. Though the runway and apron area were developed, lack of a secure boundary wall along the five-km perimeter meant that the grassland around was open to encroachment. Work is currently underway to erect the boundary wall. Local opposition has flittered away with Mayor, Sovon Chatterjee, who hails from Behala, taking personal interest in the aerodrome’s revival. Moreover, since the aerodrome is located in the constituency of Trinamool Congress leader, Mamata Banerjee, the pace of progress has increased in the past couple of months political conflicts being ironed out.