Lucknow: Kushinagar Airport has become the third Airport in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow and Varanasi to operate International flights.
The Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the license to Kushinagar Airport to operate international flights. The Union Civil Aviation Minister H.S. Puri tweeted: “Kushinagar gets necessary clearances from the DGCA to become the third licensed International Airport of UP. It will boost tourism in the region and facilitate travel on Buddhist Circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city where Lord Buddha attained Mahanirvana.”
A senior official of the State Civil Aviation department said that the license for international airport status to Kushinagar was applied after completing world class infrastructure, including runway, ATC tower, Airport building etc with a cost of Rs 199 crore.
Though the Airport was handed over to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in October 2019, more infrastructure was developed later on to seek international status to the Kushinagar airport from the DGCA. The Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aggressively pursued the issue with the civil aviation ministry and Central government to get the required license from the DGCA.
With this, the Buddhist Circuit in the state will have international air connectivity to boost religious tourism in Uttar Pradesh. Another Airport at Chitrakoot will provide air connectivity to Lord Rama circuit. Chitrakoot will be the first airport in Uttar Pradesh with ‘Table Top’ runway.
After Lucknow, Varanasi and Kushinagar, work is in full swing to develop Jewar and Ayodhya as International Airports in the state to take the tally of international airports in the state to five. Jewar Greenfield International Airport will be Asia's biggest with six runways.
