Survey started for expansion of Umroi airport

The Meghalaya state government has decided to expand the stagnant Shillong airport in Meghalaya and take steps towards surveying the actual project to construct a new greenfield airport in the state.

The Conrad Sagama-led state government, which had previously considered documenting the potential for mass air defense in the state, has finally reversed its decision and moved ahead with the expansion of static air defenses. The idea is to build long runways to enable large scale launches and flight launches.

With the growth of the overall economy of the state, including the tourism sector, the number of tourists visiting the state has increased rapidly over the years. However, its technical limitations hinder a large number of products and also limit the number of flight services that can be operated. The Airports Authority of India, commander of Umroi airport, had also approached the state government offering to expand services along its range.

According to local reports, the government has initiated a survey of the surrounding area to understand the feasibility of expanding the runway, with the expansion being an essential part of the project.

It may be noted that Shillong Airport serves a very limited number of destinations serving the population of the state. Hence a large number of passengers have to resort to supporting airports instead of Shillong to reach their chosen destinations.

Now let’s see how much time the stable project is expanding and how much the citizens of the state have to wait. Earlier this year, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma had written to the Civil Aviation Minister about the need to expand both on airspace and services, saying so much of the population could be catered to passenger friendliness.