Patna: Darbhanga airport is expected to become the first international airport of Bihar within the next two years. Once the required infrastructure is developed, this airport will become eligible for the operation of wide-body aircraft.Sources said at present this airport functions with a makeshift terminal, while the foundation stone for a permanent terminal was laid last year. The new terminal is slated to be ready by Dec next year. “This will be a major infrastructure development, especially in the civil aviation sector in the state,” said chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena.Nilesh Ramchandra Deore, special secretary in the cabinet secretariat (with additional charge as director of civil aviation, Bihar), said work on infrastructure development of this airport has been prioritised. A key upgrade in progress is the extension of Darbhanga’s runway to support larger, long-haul planes. At present, the runway is about 2,743 metres (9,000 feet) long, which is sufficient for narrow-body jets but short of typical requirements for heavy wide-body aircraft. International aviation norms generally call for a runway of around 3,200 metres or more for wide-body operations. To meet this, the govt is extending the runway to approximately 3,660-3,700 metres. This longer runway will enable Darbhanga to handle large aircraft (even up to Boeing 777s or Airbus A330s) and is aligned with international standards for safety and performance.Expanding the runway requires substantial land acquisition. The AAI, in an Oct 2024 communication, requested 90 acres of additional land to facilitate extending the runway to 12,000 feet. The Bihar cabinet has since approved this request: around 90 acres will be acquired at a cost of Rs 245 crore to support the runway expansion.
