Kargil Airport

The airport was built by the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir in 1996 for civilian operations.^[2] and was leased to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).^[3] Kargil rose to prominence in the late 1990s as the site of an undeclared war between India and Pakistan.^[4] AAI transferred the operational control and maintenance to Indian Air Force (IAF) because the airport was vulnerable to shelling by Pakistani forces.^[5]

The civil enclave at the airfield is managed by the state government. The terminal building has the capacity to handle 100 peak hour passengers at a time. It was built by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a cost of 350 million Rupees, initially for civilian use but was transferred to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2003 after it was damaged in the Kargil War in 1999.^[6]

The Air Force operates its An-32 aircraft from for an air courier service that transports civilians from Kargil to Srinagar and Jammu during the harsh winter season.^[7]

The airport is a much debated issue for local politicians as well as the public who pursue the point that the airport should be opened to commercial civilian services.^[8][9] Air Mantra became the first commercial company to land a civilian aircraft at the airport when it landed a 17-seater aircraft with dignitaries, including then Chief Minister of the state Omar Abdullah, on board in January, 2012.^[10] However, the service could not be sustained.^[11]

The Jammu and Kashmir government sanctioned ₹ billion to upgrade the airport to handle commercial flights. A pre-feasibility study was conducted by the AAI in June 2019. The report recommended extending the existing 6,000-foot (1,800 m) runway by another 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in order to make it suitable for commercial jets.^[12]