The Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) administration currentlyunder Governor Satyapal Malik is planning to commence commercial flightoperations at the Kargil airport by end of the year.

An Airports Authority of India (AAI) team had visited theexisting airport a month ago for a pre-feasibility study as per the plan thatwas sanctioned by the administration.

 “The existing runwayhas a stretch of 6,000 feet in north-to-south direction. There is scope ofextending it for a further 5,000 feet. That would make it suitable forcommercial jets” the AAI report read.

Kargil lies near the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan andthe airport’s airstrip had been damaged extensively during the 1999 conflictwith Pakistan. The twentieth anniversary of Kargil victory was recently celebratedon 26 July.

The Kargil airport already has complementary infrastructurelike ATC tower developed by the AAI but the limited airstrip doesn’t allow forfull-fledged commercial operations. The airport is currently being operated bythe IAF as per an MoU with the AAI. The administration under Malik is keen todevelop the airport for boosting tourism in the area and has set aside Rs200-crore for the airport’s development.