Airport clearance from the Civil Aviation Ministry UPSC NOTE

  Why in news Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced in the legislative assembly plans for setting up an international airport on...

 Why in news

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced in the legislative assembly plans for setting up an international airport on 2,000 acres of land, with the capacity to handle three crore passengers annually, in the industrial town of Hosur, which is 40 kms away from Bengaluru

• One of the hurdles is that the concession agreement signed between the Centre and the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL),  does not allow for new or existing airports (except for Mysore and Hassan airports) within an aerial distance of 150 kms before 2033

How can an airport gain clearance from the Civil Aviation Ministry?

• As per the present guidelines of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) while granting licence to operate a greenfield airport should take into account that no greenfield airport would be allowed within an aerial distance of 150 kms of an existing civilian airport. 

• In case a greenfield airport is proposed to be set up within 150 kms of an existing civilian airport, the impact on the existing airport would be examined and such cases would be decided by the government on a case to case basis. 

• Such an application shall be first considered by the Steering Committee, headed by the Secretary of Civil Aviation. 

• After considering the application, the Steering Committee shall make a suitable recommendation to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 

• The Ministry shall place the matter before the Union Cabinet for its consideration and the DGCA would grant a licence only after their approval.

• In 2017, the Centre granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports. 

• The Noida International Airport is located 72 kms from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, Delhi and 65 kms from the Hindon Air Force station Ghaziabad. 

• The Centre said the airport in Delhi NCR region will help decongest the IGI Airport and will serve the people of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Agra, and Faridabad.