Nine months after a chartered aircraft crash killed the then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and four others at Baramati airport, the Maharashtra government has approved the first phase of its upgrade at an estimated cost of ₹65 crore. The works will focus on runway improvements, safety infrastructure and air traffic management facilities at the airfield.
Deepak Kapoor, vice-chairman and managing director of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC), announced the approval on X on Friday, describing it as an important step towards modernising the airport.
The first phase will include recarpeting of the existing runway, construction of a runway-end safety area (RESA), grading of the surrounding area, construction of a compound wall and development of an air traffic control (ATC) tower. The RESA is designed to provide an additional safety buffer beyond the runway, reducing the risk of damage in the event of an aircraft overshooting or undershooting it.
“We have today received government approval for Phase I of the development works at Baramati Airport, worth ₹65 crore. The works include recarpeting of the runway, construction of a runway-end safety area, area grading, a compound wall and an ATC tower,” Kapoor said.
Baramati has long faced demands for an infrastructure upgrade. Before the accident, Pawar had been pursuing improvements and had directed the transfer of a detailed project report prepared by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to MADC for implementation. Following the crash, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had also announced that the state would undertake an all-round upgrade of the airport, with MADC executing the works.
{{/usCountry}}Baramati has long faced demands for an infrastructure upgrade. Before the accident, Pawar had been pursuing improvements and had directed the transfer of a detailed project report prepared by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to MADC for implementation. Following the crash, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had also announced that the state would undertake an all-round upgrade of the airport, with MADC executing the works.
{{/usCountry}}The airfield, which caters to flying training organisations and non-scheduled aircraft, has traditionally operated without a dedicated ATC tower. Traffic information was handled by personnel associated with the flying training organisations. The runway was last recarpeted in March 2016, according to earlier reports on the proposed upgrade.
Aviation expert Harshad Lodha of Baramati said the approved works addressed some of the airport’s longstanding infrastructure gaps, but a comprehensive safety upgrade would require attention to several other aspects as well.
“The construction of an ATC tower is a key component of the newly approved phase, as it is intended to support more structured air traffic management at the facility. Similarly, the proposed compound wall is expected to strengthen access control and perimeter security. However, these works alone should not be interpreted as resolving every aviation safety concern at the airport. Operational procedures, weather reporting, navigation facilities, emergency response and regulatory oversight remain important aspects of a comprehensive upgrade,” he said.