From top : The airport in Malda, a mobile tower near the airstrip that might come in the way of getting permission for the aerodrome; and the airport office. Pictures by Surajit Roy

Malda, Aug. 18: A team from the Airports Authority of India will visit Malda on Saturday to decide if the aerodrome here could be used for commercial flights.

The officials will also discuss whether an alternative site could be chosen for a new airport in case the present facility is considered unsafe for use.

Regional executive director of the AAI Gautam Mukherjee, who will head the three-member team, will meet the officials of the district administration, the Englishbazar municipality and the local MP to discuss the matter.

“We are going to inspect the Balurghat airport in the morning and then we have a meeting with officials of the Malda district administration and the MP at the circuit house where we will discuss if the airport in Malda can be used for commercial purposes,” Mukherjee said over the phone from Calcutta.

According to Malda district magistrate Rajesh Sinha, the airports authority had recently sent a letter saying that it would carry out an inspection on August 20.

“There are a number of problems, especially that of tall buildings near the airport, that might come in the way of getting the airport operational. They want to discuss these issues during the visit,” Sinha said.

According to sources in the AAI, structures above the height of 33 feet should not be constructed within a 2km radius of an airstrip.

Officials, however, said several buildings, some higher than 33 feet, have come up near the airport along with chimney stacks nearly 50 feet high.

“These structures can pose safety hazards for take-off and landing of aircraft,” an official of the AAI said.

He added that although the Englishbazar municipality had been told about the norms, it still granted permission to build the high structures in the area.

South Malda Congress MP and district president of the party Abu Hashem Khan Chowdhury said: “We have been raising the issue (to introduce flight services at the airport) from time to time. But the AAI has been lukewarm. At times they said the airport cannot be used for take-offs and landings and sometimes they wanted an alternative site.”

The Congress leader added that he had met chief minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss the issue. “She has assured me that her government was making an effort to introduce flights in many district headquarters like Malda, Balurghat and Cooch Behar. The AAI officials are coming here on Saturday. There has been enough delay and I will tell them that if the airport can function then, it should be done promptly,” Abu Hashem said.

On July 19, a Northeast Shuttle flight took off for Calcutta from the Cooch Behar airport after Mamata Banerjee “flagged off” the service — that resumed after 18 years — via a video conference.

Currently, no flights are operating from Cooch Behar but officials said the Northeast Shuttle is scheduled to start the Calcutta-Cooch Behar six-day-a-week service from September 1.

The AAI officials said an additional land measuring 55 acres was required to make the Malda airport functional.

“There is a 3,300 feet runway but there is encroachment on the eastern end. There are also high rises, mobile towers and high-tension cables in the vicinity of the airport that might cause safety problems for take-off and landing of flights,” an official said.

The AAI had made the requisition for the extra land few years ago but nothing had been done to acquire the plot despite assurances from the state government.

Sources said the airports authority was to have paid for the additional land.