Maharashtra's Baramati airport to get ₹100-crore makeover six months after Ajit Pawar's death in plane crash

Maharashtra plans a ₹100-crore overhaul of Baramati airport, six months after Ajit Pawar’s fatal crash, but key landing and weather systems remain absent.

Six months after the death of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in an air crash at the Baramati airport in Maharashtra, the state government is in the process of finalising a plan to overhaul the small, uncontrolled airport at a cost of ₹100 crore.

Wreckage of the chartered plane carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar lie mangled and burnt after the aircraft crashed during landing near Baramati airport, in Pune (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Sources said the proposal was cleared two weeks ago by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), the government agency that manages smaller airports in the state. Subsequently, it was cleared by additional chief secretary (aviation) Sanjay Sethi last Wednesday and final clearance is awaited from a high-power committee headed by the state chief secretary.

Pawar and four others died on January 28 when the chartered plane carrying them from Mumbai crashed near the Baramati airstrip as the pilot attempted to land the Learjet 45 aircraft at 8:45am.

Neglected airstrip lacks basic safety infrastructure

Baramati, home to the Pawars, has an uncontrolled airport built in the mid-90s by then chief minister Sharad Pawar to promote investment in the area. Over the decades, Sharad Pawar, who now heads the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (SP), transformed Baramati from a rural backwater into an industrial and educational hub but the airport remained neglected. The small, 1,600m x 30m airstrip was used mainly by the Pawars, government officials and businesspersons.

Unfenced, and allowing cattle and stray dogs into this restricted space, the Baramati airport is equipped with only very basic facilities. Two private flying schools operate from here, using the airport to train pilots. The airport does not have dedicated air traffic control (ATC) personnel, with students of the flying schools working at the ATC unit there. The airport doesn’t cater to much air traffic – only 10 to 12 VVIP flights a month – but that’s no excuse to overlook the lack of proper ATC staffing.

Fire response exposed after fatal crash

The airport has no emergency services. It does not have its own fire tender and, when the aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar crashed, a fire tender had to be summoned from the Baramati municipal council, losing precious time after the crash.

Ajit Pawar was very keen to upgrade the Baramati airport. It was among five airports given to the Anil Ambani-run Reliance Airport Developers in 2008-2009 to manage. As it was still largely neglected, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) took it back in July 2025 and, within two months, it was given to MADC to manage.

Among the proposed upgrades are the construction of an ATC tower and a fire station and other facilities. The airstrip itself will receive several upgrades – including recarpetting; a runway-end safety area of 90m at both ends in case an aircraft overshoots; and the addition of features such as grading of the airstrip, storm water drainage, windsock, edge lights and installing PAPI lights (Precision Approach Path Indicator), which guide pilots to maintain the correct descent angle during landing. The plan also envisages an 8-km-long compound wall and an internal perimeter road.

Highlights of the proposed make over (HT Infographics)

What’s still lacking

The plan, however, does not include an Instrument Landing System or a night landing system. At present, students from the two flying schools install battery operated lamps for night flying.

The airport also lacks a meteorological department and relies on the Pune airport’s met department for information on weather conditions. MADC’s plan is silent on a dedicated met department for the revamped Baramati airport.

Experts question long-term commitment

Capt Sanjay Karve, former director of civil aviation with the Maharashtra government, said, “The Baramati airport runway has an inverted hump and this must be corrected during recarpetting. PAPI is the easiest and cheapest way to let crew know of glide flow in case of bad weather. DGCA must ask for PAPI for all uncontrolled airports.’’

Karve was not optimistic about the political will to revamp the airport. “Upgrading it now is like locking the stable after the horse has bolted. The moment Sunetra Pawar is no longer deputy chief minister, Baramati airport will be forgotten. Take Karad airport, for instance. The moment Prithviraj Chavan ceased to be CM, the project took a back seat. Latur airport was forgotten after Vilasrao Deshmukh ceased to be CM and became a Union minister. Nanded airport took a back seat after Ashok Chavan lost power. In essence, we don’t have a long-term plan for aviation.’’

President of the Bombay Flying Club, Mihir Bhagvati said, “This is a welcome step. These changes were required long ago. They must be implemented at all MADC airports. These are the bare minimum requirements of any airport. I am glad that MADC is doing a fantastic job by upgrading this airport.’’

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