An Airports Authority of India (AAI) team, which is now on a tour of the state to explore regional connectivity options, visited abandoned World War-II-era airstrips in Chakulia and Dhalbhumgarh in Ghatshila sub-division on Wednesday.

State civil aviation director (operation) S. P. Sinha said the AAI team was satisfied with what it saw at Chakulia and Dhalbhumgar, about 75 km from Jamshedpur, and indicated the two airstrips were fit to be developed into airports.

"The team expressed positive vibes," Sinha told The Telegraph. "The team's visit is in view of chief minister Raghubar Das's talks with the Centre to explore feasibility of linking more cities under Delhi's regional connectivity scheme (RCS)," he added.

The AAI team, which visited Bokaro on Tuesday, will also be visiting Dumka, Hazaribagh and Daltonganj.

Among those in the AAI team were DGM Sudesh Sharma, DGM (operations) Ganapati Das, and senior managers Santanu Pannikar, Neeraj Gupta and Ganesh Sharma. They are to submit a feasibility report to the state government with suggestions about improvements required.

Jamshedpur MP Bidyut Baran Mahto, who was also present, told the media at Circuit House that the AAI team was happy with the airstrips.

"The Chakulia airstrip of over 2km was praised by the AAI team. Its members felt that with some modifications and acquisition of more land, it could be developed to accommodate international flights. I met Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his junior minister Jayant Sinha in March and spoke to them about the need to connect Kolhan region by air," he said.

Spread over 515.44 acres, Chakulia airstrip with a 2.5km runway, was built by the British during World War-II.