Biratnagar Airport Meets ICAO and CAAN Standard
April 16, 2017-Biratnagar
One of the country’s busiest domestic Airport in the eastern part of the country has an asphalt runway of length 1505 meters on an elevation of 236 feet aligned to 090 degrees and 270 degrees serving as Biratnagar Domestic Airport. Biratnagar Airport was established on 6 July 1958 as Rani Airport in location called Rani which has been operating under Biratnagar Civil Aviation Authority has now meet the IACO and CAAN flight safety standard.
The certificate was handover on the occasion of program held on Wednesday to the Chief of Biratnagar Civil Aviation Authority Mr. Suresh Man Singh by the CAAN Director General Mr. Sanjiv Gautam. Mr. Gautam also noted that it’s the only domestic airport in the country to hold this certificate after Tribhuvan International Airport.
According to the ICAO flight standard, the airport operating the aircraft with more than 30 passenger’s capacity must compulsory hold this certificate. The Biratnagar Airport had to fulfill 87 requirements for acquiring ICAO certificate however; it would take long time and huge investments for addressing the requirements. So, the airport had demanded to reduce some requirements. The validation of this certificate is only two years and if the airport fails to maintain its standard, the certificate would be terminated, noted Mr Sanjiv Gautam, CAAN Director General.
The report also claims that there is no space available for the expansion of the airport which makes it seem like the aim of Biratnagar Airport to be established as an International Airport is in the dark side while the construction of other international airports in Nepal are running progressively.
All over Nepal, only Nepalgunj Airport and Biratnagar airport have been equipped with this system which monitors the radio transmissions in a very wide range in the western part and eastern part of the country respectively.
About Airport:-
Biratnagar Airport is a controlled aerodrome facility. The traffic is monitored by Air Traffic Controllers (A.T.C.) who operates in two shifts. The airport’s parking bay is spacious which can hold 7 aircraft at once. The fire and rescue department of Biratnagar airport consists of 2 fire machines and 1 ambulance equipped with necessary equipment and totals 16 number of manpower operating in two shifts of 6 firefighters marking the department a ‘Category 5’ one. These machines well equips the fire and rescue department of the airport. The airport’s terminal building consists of a V.I.P. room. The premises of its terminal including runway are secured by Nepal Police Force. The airport also has engineering departments including Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Radio Engineering departments. Two X-Ray Machines and two metal detectors constitute the security checks of the travelers. However the airport is equipped with VOR/DME navigational instrument that help pilots to identify their position and distance with respect to the airport while flying. VHF and HF communication facilities make efficient communication between pilots and controllers. The airport also has two bird scaring devices. Moreover, the airport also features refueling.
Biratnagar airport has not seen any major incidents or air crash yet but the minor incidents occur occasionally that causes most aircraft to be grounded here. Most of the problems are related to the hydraulic system failures. Some aircraft overshoot the runway with burst tires and some other with minor mechanical and technical failure. No other major emergencies have been recorded by the airport authorities since.
