The oldest aerodrome in the country at Juhu is yet to get a licence to operate following its expiry in February this year.
The oldest aerodrome in the country at Juhu is yet to get a licence to operate following its expiry in February this year.
Sources said since then, the authorities concerned with the Juhu aerodrome had communicated with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The Juhu aerodrome even recently had approached DGCA with recommendation for the licence, but according to sources, the civil aviation regulator turned down the request last week claiming that the documentation of Juhu aerodrome did not meet the DGCA requirement and thus it would not be able provide an permanent operational licence.
Furthermore, sources told this newspaper that recently when a standing committee meeting took place in Mumbai, the stake holders of the Juhu aerodrome pointed out the lack of facilities at Juhu following which the ministry asked DGCA to ensure a good runway facility at Juhu.
The DGCA then, once again informed Juhu that to earn a licence it would need to work on its management.
Earlier, DGCA had given a conditional licence to Juhu in July 3, asking it to meet all the requirements within the next 30 days and submit a report to DGCA through the AAI.
However, sources informed this newspaper that Juhu failed to meet the expectation in the given time because of which DGCA gave it more time, which had expire last week.
The civil aviation regulator then once again wrote to the airport director of Juhu to finish the licencing process.
The Juhu aerodrome licence had been valid till February 7, and the AAI officials sent documents for its renewal to the DGCA on January 18.
The DGCA sent them back on February 5, saying there were discrepancies in the documents and sought more details.
However, Juhu and AAI failed in the same and the licence lapsed. The Juhu aerodrome handles almost 120 flights daily and makes an annual revenue of about Rs 20 crore.
