An airport dedicated to defense purposes will be established in Adilabad, Telangana, featuring a section for civil operations, as announced by Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu. The Civil Aviation Ministry has requested an additional 450 acres of land from the state government to complement the existing 360-acre airstrip in Adilabad. The proposed airport is planned to be a significant facility equipped with a runway capable of accommodating Airbus A320 aircraft.
A decision to proceed with the airport’s development was made during a meeting in New Delhi attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, and Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy. The meeting was also attended by Adilabad MP G. Nagesh, MLA Payal Shankar, officials from the Defence Ministry, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and representatives from the state government. Ram Mohan Naidu informed the media that the Defence Ministry has expressed no objections to collaborating with the AAI for the airport’s establishment.
The Civil Aviation Minister highlighted that the country currently operates 36 defense airports with provisions for civil operations, emphasizing the successful joint operations between civil and defense sectors nationwide. He disclosed plans for a field visit on April 17 by a team comprising defense officials, AAI representatives, and state government officials to conduct an Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) study. Following this, a masterplan will be formulated, subject to approval from the Ministry of Defence.
