IAF AN-32 for the first time makes a landing at Sikkim's Pakyong Airport

Published on January 20, 2019
For the first time, Antonov-32 (AN-32) transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a successful landing at Sikkim's Pakyong Airport, one of the highest airfields in the country.

IAF AN-32 for the first time makes a landing at Sikkim's Pakyong Airport

Why is the landing significant?

  • The successful landing has assumed great importance due to its strategic location of 60 km from the India-China border and it is located 4,500 feet above sea level.
  • The successful landing is a booster for the Indian efforts which is aggressively overhauling the infrastructure, particularly in the North-Eastern region, following the Doklam standoff in 2017.

About the Pakyong Airport:

  • Pakyong Airport is a Greenfield airport near Gangtok, the capital of the state of Sikkim.
  • It is the first greenfield airport to be constructed in the North-Eastern Region of India.
  • The airport is strategically important and the Indian Air Force is also building on the ability to land certain military aircrafts at the Pakyong Airport.
  • Prior to the inauguration of the Pakyong Airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24th September 2018, Sikkim was the sole state in India without a functional airport and Sikkim was dependent on the airport at Bagdogra in the neighbouring state of West Bengal, and Paro Airport in Bhutan.

Question:

Q. For the first time, Antonov-32 (AN-32) transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out a successful landing at which airport of India's North-Eastern region that is one of the highest airfields in the country?
a. Manipur's Pakyong Airport
b. Mizoram's Pakyong Airport
c. Sikkim's Pakyong Airport
d. Arunachal Pradesh's Pakyong Airport

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