Jump to content

Ulundurpettai Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ulundurpettai Airport is an unused airport near Ulundurpettai town. This airport was operated as an airbase by the British during World War II,[1] who later it left unused and turned it into barren land, although the airstrip remains undamaged.[2] This airstrip was last used during the opening ceremony of NLC India ltd, for which Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru attended, landing at this airstrip. Post that ceremony, military uses this strip for minor training purposes rarely.

The Coast Guard of India tried to convert and use this airport, but this work was shelved for unknown reasons.[3] There are also plans to convert this unused airstrip into a Drone port which is first of its kind in entire Nation and to convert it into a Drone training centre by Indian Military Forces.[4][5]

Now this airstrip has been taken by the government of India with plans to construct a new airport under the UDAN scheme which is also shelved due to infeasibility.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Land on the runway of memories". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  2. ^ "New dot on aviation map". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  3. ^ M. Gunasekaran (Nov 12, 2009). "Coast guard air station likely to be shifted to Ulundurpet | Chennai News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
  4. ^ Shivakumar, C. (2021-02-10). "Ulundurpet airfield to become a droneport?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  5. ^ Shivakumar, C. (2022-04-01). "Defence Ministry delays nod, India's first UAS training range in Ulundurpet remains grounded". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  6. ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (2016-11-22). "Centre identifies 13 unserved airports in TN under Udan scheme". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2020-11-26.