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Mysore, Sept. 2 -- The Manda-kalli Airport here is still awaiting both planes and passengers since its inauguration, with various leaders claiming that by the time Dasara festivities begin, at least one or two major airline operators will be running a feeder service from Mandakalli.
But several aviation experts have expressed doubts about the safety aspect of planes taking off and landing at Mandakalli.
The airport had been inaugurated recently with the building of the new passenger terminal with a capacity to accommodate 200 passengers. The two runways, which earlier measured 1,740 metres and 1,350 metres, were built apart from a taxi way peripheral road and a boundary wall. The runways were then extended by 750 metres. But some ex-Indian Air Force combat pilots, who work for private airline companies, said international standards stipulate that the runway should be 3,300 metres to take care of conventional aircraft and there should be a 200-metre safety extension at either end of the runway.
"Mandakalli comes nowhere near that standard. Even with the extension to the runway, it is just 2,490 metres and it has only a 50-metre extension on either side," they said.
A combat helicopter pilot, who currently pilots a private jet for an industrial house, told SOM: "Merely extending the runway is not enough. There are other factors like the type of aircraft that is expected at Mandakalli and the cruising speed of the plane. The taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing will depend on...