Fursatganj Airfield is an

airfield An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...

at Fursatganj of

Amethi district Amethi district is the 72nd district of the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. This district is a part of Faizabad division (officially ''Ayodhya division'') in the Awadh region of the Uttar Pradesh. It covers an area of 2329.11 km� ...

(formerly in

Raebareli district Raebareli district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Raebareli is the district headquarters. This district is a part of Lucknow Division in Uttar Pradesh state. The total area of Raebareli district is 3,371 S ...

) in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. '' Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi'' is a flight training school established in 1986 and co-located with the airfield under the government of India.

Airlines and destinations

The airport/airstrip has only unscheduled chartered flights.

Consideration of a new world class civil aviation university

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...

rather than any other of the civil aviation officials announced the much-awaited venue of the civil aviation university, which till date was a mystery. Addressing a public function at Fursatganj in

, Gandhi surprised everyone by his announcement, proposing that

Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) is an autonomous central university at Fursatganj Airfield in Uttar Pradesh, India, for aviation studies and research. It is under the administration of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of the G ...

would be built at Fursatganj with an aim to give better training facilities to the pilots. He also announced the expansion of Fursatganj airport, so that farmers' produce can be exported. The announcement was made at a function to mark the 25th anniversary of Indira Gandhi National Aviation Academy (IGRUA), a premier academy of pilot training in India, where

Vayalar Ravi Vayalar Ravi (born 4 June 1937
) is an Indian politician, who served as the

was also present. On 17 October, during the International Civil Aviation Conference in Mumbai, Ravi had announced the plans for the university. Since then, he is believed to be pitching hard for the institution to come to his home turf. MiD DAY had reported ('Kerala to host world class aviation school', 19 October) that during discussions for the project, debates supported that the university should be located between northern and western India, but the aviation minister was of a view that the university must be established in Kerala.

Official confirmation

Talking to MiD DAY, Nasim Zaidi, union civil aviation secretary, said, Yes, it has been decided that the university would be built at Fursatganj in UP and its campus will be close to Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy(IGRUA) at Fursatganj airfield. Despite repeated attempts, Ravi remained unavailable for comment. In order to minimise the scarcity of aviation professionals in the country, the Civil Aviation Ministry mooted the idea of the first aviation university.

Proposed extension of the airport

The aviation ministry has decided that Airports Authority of India will extend the 6,000-ft-long runway at the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA) at Raebareli to make it fit for bigger jets. And AAI will also construct a passenger terminal to have an airport to replace what is only a flying academy now.

Extension of runway

The decision was taken at IGRUA in a meeting that Rahul had with then aviation minister

Vayalar Ravi Vayalar Ravi (born 4 June 1937
) is an Indian politician, who served as the

(Ajit Singh, also from UP, was sworn in as aviation minister on Sunday), aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and other top officials. The runway is currently 6,000 ft which will be extended to 7,500 ft and then 9,000 ft in the second stage, said sources.

Estimated cost

The estimated cost for the 7,500-ft runway and terminal is Rs 150 crore and it will cost another Rs 100 crore for expanding it, said sources. While a proposal for funding this would be sent to the Planning Commission, aviation authorities estimate that about 350 acres would be needed. The move is expected to lead to economic development - and rich political harvest - as Raebareli could become the fifth city in UP to have an airport after Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra and Kanpur.

References

{{Airports in India Airports in Uttar Pradesh Proposed airports in Uttar Pradesh Amethi district University and college airports Airports with year of establishment missing University and college buildings in India