Halwara Air Force Station is an

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

(IAF) base near

Halwara Halwara (; ISO: ''Halawāṛā'') is a township in Punjab state in India in the Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › file ...

town in

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. It is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the IAF and was actively involved in both, 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak conflicts because of its strategic location. It is home to the 220 Squadron known as "Desert Tigers" and 221 Squadron known as "Valiants" flying the

Sukhoi Su-30MKI The Sukhoi Su-30MKI (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a two-seater, twinjet Multirole combat aircraft, multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautic ...

. The

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civi ...

(AAI) in December 2018 to construct a

civil enclave A joint-use airport is an aerodrome that is used for both military aviation and civil aviation. They typically contain facilities of both a civil airport and a military air base. By country India Visakhapatnam Airport operates as a civil enclav ...

at the air base. It will be spread over 135.5 acres and is expected to ready in three years.

History

The airfield was built in 1942 by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. Halwara was used as an allied Air Force staging base during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was abandoned after the war. Halwara was reactivated under the Indian Air Force on 16 March 1950, and is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the IAF. The base was home to two

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

squadrons in the early 1950s. The

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

, the first jet aircraft of the IAF, was introduced to the base in 1954. The 1800 metre runway was extended to its present length in 1963. Due to its strategic location, Halwara was actively involved in both 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars. The base housed squadrons of MIG 23 BN for three decades until March 2009 when they were phased out. In September 2012, Halwara inducted its first squadron of the Sukhoi Su-30MKI becoming the first air base in the Western Air Command to operate the aircraft.

Ludhiana International Airport

In December 2018, the Government of Punjab a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the AAI in December 2018 to construct a

at the air force base. A

Joint Venture Company A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access ...

(JVC), formed with the majority of 51% stake of AAI and 49% stake of the State Government through the Greater Ludhiana Development Authority (GLADA), will execute the project. The Government of Punjab will provide 135.54 acres of land by way of its equity in the project, while AAI will bear the costs of developing the airport. The first phase is expected to be completed within three years and will allow for operations of Code 4C type of aircraft. It will be built at a cost of ₹ 46.91 crore and the total covered area of the interim building will be 2,000 sq.m. It will have a seating capacity for 300 passengers and a public parking space, which will be able to accommodate 75 cars. The airport will be accessed with a direct link road to the airport with the upcoming Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway. It is currently being put under proposal by the

National Highways Authority of India The National Highways Authority of India or NHAI () is an autonomous agency of the Government of India, set up in 1995 (Act 1988) and is responsible for management of a road network of over 50,000 km of National highways out of 1,32,499 ...

(NHAI). As of January 2022, the terminal's construction has been started from December 2021, and the

foundation stone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

was laid by Dr. Amar Singh on 5 January 2022. The terminal is being constructed by

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

firm Synergy Thrislington of

Solan Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint cap ...

. The terminal is expected to be completed by 30 June 2022. On 29 December 2023 the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

expressed expectations that the initiation of flights from Halwara terminal on 15 February 2024 would contribute significantly to the economic and industrial activities in the region. He conveyed a strong commitment from the government towards comprehensive development and the prosperity of the state, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated impact of the Halwara airport operations.

References

{{Indian Air Force Buildings and structures in Ludhiana Indian Air Force bases Airports in Punjab, India 1942 establishments in British India Military airbases established in 1942