Patna Airport Runway to Be Extended as Clock Tower Faces Height Cut for Safer Landings

Patna: Efforts to extend the runway at Patna’s Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport have gathered fresh momentum following a nationwide safety advisory issued in the wake of the recent Ahmedabad air crash. The proposed upgrade would stretch the current 2,072.64-metre runway by over 1.5 kilometres, bringing the total length to 3,657.6 metres, well above the minimum safety threshold for large aircraft.

The initiative stems from a central government circular urging urgent safety audits across India’s airports, particularly focusing on runway adequacy. Officials in Patna have responded swiftly, with a committee led by the district magistrate and comprising airport and civic officials, already conducting land measurements and site assessments. The committee’s report, submitted to local authorities this week, is expected to be forwarded to the state government for final approval.

The runway’s current limitations have long posed operational constraints. Former airport officials and aviation experts note that the current length is insufficient even for optimal operation of narrow-body aircraft, let alone wide-body jets used in international travel. “To safely land large planes, a minimum runway length of 3 to 5 kilometres is required,” said an aircraft engineer familiar with the airport’s operations. “Patna’s runway falls far short of that.”

Landing angles are also under scrutiny. Aviation safety standards suggest an approach angle of 2.5 degrees, yet due to surrounding obstructions most notably, the Secretariat’s 49.5-metre-high clock tower aircraft currently descend at a steeper 3-degree angle, which experts warn is less than ideal for safe landings.

To address this, the committee has proposed reducing the clock tower’s height by 17.5 metres (approximately 51 feet). The airport administration has reportedly written to the district authorities requesting structural modifications to the tower to comply with safety norms.

Extending the runway, however, comes with its own logistical challenges. The airport is hemmed in by dense urban development, requiring land acquisition on both the eastern and western flanks. According to the committee’s findings, 15 acres of land from the adjacent Patna Zoo and another 14 acres near Phulwari Sharif Gumti will need to be acquired for the project to proceed.