“After the regulator started security auditing for airports a few months back, the audit report found that NSCBIA has committed serious safety norms violations, especially on runway maintenance work. It has been decided to impose the penalty. 20 lakh,” said a senior DGCA official.
“As per the audit report, the maintenance of the runway at Kolkata airport was not done as per the guidelines, the lights on the runway were not fixed properly and Foreign Object Debris (FOB) was reported on the runway, which could have been a Part of the concern was the safety of the aircraft during landing and takeoff,” the official said.
The DGCA audit report suggested that Kolkata airport was negligent in maintaining the runway as per the mandatory safety requirement.
The aviation regulatory body has issued a show-cause notice to the airport for serious violations of safety norms at the airport.
second airport construction
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government has decided to build a second airport in the vicinity of Kolkata with an aim to reduce NSCBIA at Dum Dum.
The state government has started scouting for land in neighboring South 24 Parganas district, he said, adding that Bhangar is one of the possible locations.
The official said that in a recent communication, Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi has directed South 24 Parganas District Magistrate P Ulaganathan to earmark the land for the proposed airport, which will feature an international airport.
“There is a lot of pressure at Dum Dum airport in North 24 Parganas district. We have felt the need to build a new airport around Kolkata. The best possible location would be in South 24 Parganas. It will probably be the second largest airport in the state. ,” the IAS officer was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI,
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