Background

Kanpur, once known as ‘The Manchester of East’, is one of the most vibrant cities of India. Nestled on the banks of Ganga, Kanpur stands as one of north India’s major industrial centres with its own historical, religious and commercial importance.

Kanpur Air Force Base is an airport that was originally designated for the Indian Air force. In the 1970s, flights operated from this airport regularly to Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Banglore, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai.

The Civil Air Terminal of Kanpur Airport was reopened in December 2004 and since then regular flights are operational on this airport.

Situated in Chakeri, the airport is at a distance of 10 km from Kanpur city and serves Kanpur, Unnao, Etawah, Kanpur Dehat, Hamirpur and Fatehpur districts in the state.

Considering the growth in passenger traffic, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken development work of the civil enclave at Kanpur Airport with enhanced facilities for passengers at a project cost of Rs 143.6 crore.

The development project includes the construction of a new terminal building, and an apron suitable for the parking of three A-321 type of aircraft.

The AAI sources said that the new terminal has the option of expanding to allow six aircraft to be accommodated at one go at the airport simultaneously.

Night Landing Facility

Official sources said that the instrument landing system (ILS) at the airport will also become functional on the inaugural day.

The ILS guides pilots land aircraft even in case of minimum visibility. It consists of a localiser, glide path and distance measuring equipment. ILS is a standard International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) precision landing aid which is used to provide accurate descent guidance signals to aircraft for landing on the runway under normal or adverse weather conditions.

In Kanpur, the ILS facility would make night landing possible, which will lead to increase in domestic flights.

“With the ILS facility planes can take off and land even when visibility is low, at night and in foggy weather conditions. The ILS-2 trial of the Airforce has been successful and the Airport Authority has been authorized for its operation. This ILS will control commercial flights as well as Airforce aircrafts,” sources added.

The development of civil enclave of Kanpur Airport with enhanced capacity will improve the connectivity to this city, giving impetus to the overall growth of the region.

Juggilal Kamlapat Temple, Kanpur

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