Phaltan airport plan cancelled due to increased fuel costs

The government of Maharashtra announced its plan for setting up an airport in Jalgaon, the industrial town of Maharashtra, by 2010. This decision was taken at a tripartite meeting held recently in Mumbai between the state government, Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) and Jalgaon district authorities. While various strategies for the technical and financial aspect of the project have been chalked out, the Jalgaon Airport Company Limited, an entity formed by MADC, will soon acquire land for the airport. Jalgaon airport will be built on the lines of the Kochi International Airport. According to the MADC proposal, the airport will require 350 hectares of land with at least 3,200 meters of runway length and 45 meters breadth.

Apart from Jalgaon, MADC is also planning to develop domestic airports at Solapur, Shirdi and an international airport in Pune. Initially, the government had drawn a map for constructing at least seven new airports across the state. However, with most airlines cutting capacity due to increased fuel costs, the state has been forced to roll back plans for airports at Phaltan, Dhule, Karad and Chandrapur.