Air services in Sikkim airport halted due to low visibility caused by unpredictable weather: Puri

Unpredictable weather that resulted in low visibility lead to suspension of air services at Pakyong airport in Sikkim from June 1, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament on Wednesday.

"Pakyong is an operational airport and can handle ATR-72 and Q400 type of aircraft operations under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.

ATR-72 and Q400 aircraft are small aircraft that are run on turboprop engines and can carry up to 80 passengers.

"SpiceJet which was operating daily one scheduled flight on Kolkata- Pakyong- Kolkata sector have decided to temporarily suspend its operations with effect from 1.6.2019 due to unpredictable weather which results in low visibility at Pakyong," the minister said.

Pakyong Airport was constructed based on the design and drawings prepared by "renowned" consultant Mott McDonald, he said.

"The structural design and drawings were vetted by IIT Mumbai. Nothing adverse about maintainability has been mentioned by IIT Kharagpur or CBRI. The temporary suspension of air services will affect the connectivity to the place," he added.