Ajit Pawar had been asking for the airport to be upgraded

n the absence of a proper ATC, the air traffic control at Baramati is jointly managed by pilot cadets from Baramati’s two private aviation academies, Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation. On Wednesday, on account of a VIP landing the ATC was being manned by a flight instructor from Carver Aviation

MUMBAI: The airport at Baramati where a Learjet 45 carrying Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and 4 others crash landed on Wednesday morning, killing all on board, was categorised as an “uncontrolled” airport lacking basic navigation aids.

Ajit Pawar had been asking for the airport to be upgraded

Indian airports come under four categories: C and D categories are those under which most major airports fall while smaller airports like those at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad, or Bhavnagar or Jalgaon, are categorised as B or partially controlled. The one at Baramati is categorised as A or uncontrolled. “There are about 150 uncontrolled airports in India. They have a basic runway and no ATC Tower or ATC frequency,” said Mihir Bhagvati, aviation expert and a DGCA-approved examiner for pilots.

“The airport also lacks navigational aids like VOR (a ground-based radio navigation beacon that allows aircraft with a receiver to determine their position and navigate it), PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) which tells whether the aircraft is high or low on approach,” said Sanjay Karve who retired in 2025 as Maharashtra aviation director. Karve also confirmed that the airport does not have an independent metrological facility and that it relies on data from Pune airport. On Wednesday morning the area was covered in dense fog with a visibility of 2500 meters.

In the absence of a proper ATC, the air traffic control at Baramati is jointly managed by pilot cadets from Baramati’s two private aviation academies, Redbird Aviation and Carver Aviation. On Wednesday, on account of a VIP landing the ATC was being manned by a flight instructor from Carver Aviation. On Wednesday morning, after the Learjet pilot executed a Go Around, he was asked to report when he had the runway in sight. “Runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight,” he reportedly told the Carver instructor manning the ATC. After a few seconds the pilot then reported that the runway was in sight, but the plane crashed shortly after, said an official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The airport did not have its own fire-tender, said airport in charge Shivaji Taware. “We had called one fire tender from Baramati Municipal Council as standby for the VIP landing. When we realised that the plane had crashed, we called for more fire tenders from the Baramati Municipal Council and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and arrived soon after.’’

The airport, constructed by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation inaugurated in 1996, mainly serviced the two flying schools and small private planes. “There are only four to five air traffic movements weekly from other airports to Baramati. Carver Aviation and Redbird Flight Training Academy, which have nine and 16 aircraft respectively, operate from morning till late evening (using chargeable lights on runway) for training purposes,” said the airport manager, Shivaji Taware.

“The runway at Baramati is small. Unlike big city airports where the runway width is between 75 to 80 meters, Baramat runway’s width is 30 meters. This runway also has a shallow hump which can alter a pilot’s perception. In my opinion it’s not suitable for VIP operations,” the former state aviation director told HT.

Captain Naufil Karnalkar who learnt flying at Baramati and worked as a flying instructor for five years, before joining Qatar Airways, told HT, “The visibility was poor on Wednesday morning and there are no navigational aids at the runway which need to be installed. The ATC too can be better managed. The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has not done anything about smoothening the runway surface either.”

Until August 2025, the airport was managed by the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Airport Developers. MADC manager Shivaji Taware who is in charge of Baramati airport said, “We had taken over the airport on August 19 as there were several lacunae in its management. In the last few months, Ajit Pawar as the guardian minister of Pune district, had himself taken many meetings to upgrade this airport. He had asked for basic facilities like PAPI and night landing and a regular ATC.”