Deesa Airport (also spelled ''Disa'' Airport), also known as Palanpur Airport, is an airport in

Deesa Deesa is a city and a municipality in the Banaskantha district in the state of Gujarat, India. History Deesa is situated on the east banks of the river Banas. Deesa was an estate and thana ( faujdari/thanedari ) ruled by the Mandori (Jhalori) ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

originally built to serve the princely state of Palanpur. It is managed by the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

. The airport hit national headlines in February 2011 when

Subramanian Swamy Subramanian Swamy (born 15 September 1939) is an Indian politician, economist and statistician. Before joining politics, he was a professor of Mathematical Economics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is known for his Hindu na ...

claimed that

2G case G, or g, is the seventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. History The ...

accused Shahid Balwa illegally used the airport to secretly transport VIPs and criminals in and out of the country. The Airports Authority of India denied this was the case, stating that the airstrip was not used for the last two years, due to the poor condition of the airstrip, adding that it was fit only for

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

. The airfield was most recently used for a

sky diving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

program in 2013. In September 2011, A K Gogoi, Commander in Chief, South Western Air Command of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

announced that there was a proposal to develop Deesa Airport into a full-fledged

Air Base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and that the

Defence Ministry {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a g ...

had approved this proposal. Deesa was chosen due to its strategic location, being close to the international border with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The first phase of this proposal includes spending on strengthening airport infrastructure. In March 2018, the

Cabinet Committee on Security The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of the Government of India discusses, debates and is the final decision-making body on senior appointments in the national security apparatus, defence policy and expenditure, and generally all matters of Ind ...

headed by the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

approved the forward air force base plan. In October 2020, the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

sanction was given for the infrastructure activities of the approved Air Force Base, in November 2020, they were inaugurated by the Indian Air Force's Chief Marshal, RKS Bhadauria. On 30 September 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for runway and allied infrastructure at the Deesa Air Force station was held by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

. The project will cost .

References

External links

{{Airports in India Defunct airports in India Airports in Gujarat Banaskantha district Airports with year of establishment missing