Pakyong Airport is the first airport in Sikkim and 100th operational one in India.The airport will provide a big boost to connectivity in the Himalayan State, and also give a fillip to tourism.
GANGTOK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the first airport in Sikkim which is situated at an altitude of 4500ft at Paykong. PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Sikkim.
The Prime Minister reached in Gangtok in an MI-8 chopper from Bagdogra and was received by Governor Ganga Prasad, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and others at Libing Army Helipad.
The airport is the hilly state’s first and only airport.Currently, the nearest airport for the people of Sikkim is 124 kilometre (km) away in Bagdogra, West Bengal.
The new airport is just 30 km from Gangtok, the state capital and 60 km away from the China border. It is spread over more than 200 acres of land.The first commercial flight ops from Sikkim would start from October 4, 2018.
The airport is spread over 201 acres. It is located on top of a hill about two km above Pakyong village at 4,500 feet above sea level.It is constructed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The project cost Rs 553 crore.
Sikkim’s dream of having an airport came true nine years after a foundation stone of the greenfield airport was laid, around 33 km from Gangtok, in 2009.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) would be able to land various types of aircraft on the airport’s runway with the construction of another 75-metre stretch adjacent to the main runway in the coming days.
Initially the airport would only cater to domestic flights, but later it will also provide international flight services connecting Sikkim with other countries like Paro in Bhutan, Kathmandu in Nepal and Dhaka in Bangladesh.
