Pakyong Airport
Pakyong Airport is an airport under construction near Gangtok, the state
capital of Sikkim, India. The Airport, spread over 400 ha (990 acres), is
located at Pakyong village about 35 km (21.75 mi) south of Gangtok.
It is the first Greenfield airport to be constructed in the Northeastern
Region of India and the only airport in the state of Sikkim. Frequent
protests by locals have resulted in suspension of work twice, escalating the
cost of the project from Rs. 309 Crore to Rs. 605 Crore.
Airport construction including passenger terminal.
The Airport is being built by the
Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an estimated cost of 605 crore
featuring a 1,700 m × 30 m (5,577 ft × 98 ft) runway and a 116 m (381 ft)
long taxiway connecting it to an apron measuring 106 by 76 metres (348 ft ×
249 ft) that can accommodate two ATR 72 aircraft at a time.
The terminal building measuring 2,380 m2 (25,600 sq ft) with a capacity of
100 passengers, a car park for 80 vehicles and a fire station cum Air
Traffic Control Tower.
Pakyong Airport has snack bar, Prepaid Taxi counter
for passengers within its premises. Prepaid taxis can be availed on a very
reasonable rate to visit nearby cities like Gangtok, Namchi, Mangan, Pelling
etc. or any other tourist places of Sikkim on hiring basis. The Airport is
just 1 kilometre away from NH717A at Pakyong.
Presently, the nearest airport to Sikkim is located 124 km (77 mi) away,
Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri in the neighbouring state of West Bengal.
The Airport is managed and controlled by
AAI.
Airlines and Destinations
The Airport's only commercial passenger airline SpiceJet temporarily
suspended flight operations to the airport effective 1 June 2019. After a
suspension of 19 months, flight operations by SpiceJet resumed on 23 January
2021, following the establishment of Required Navigation Performance (RNP)
approaches.
Currently, SpiceJet operates seasonal flight services to and from this
Airport to Delhi and Kolkata as stated below:
| Airlines | Destinations |
| SpiceJet | Delhi, Kolkata |
folder_open Airports in Sikkim