Kushinagar airport has acquired the necessary clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to become the third licensed international airport of Uttar Pradesh. The other two international airports in the state are Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi.
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said in a tweet, “Kushinagar becomes the latest operational airport in the country after DGCA India issued the aerodrome license for public use. This will provide unparalleled connectivity to pilgrims and tourists on the Buddhist tourism circuit.”
Kushinagar holds an important position in the Buddhist tourist Circuit because it is said to be the place where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana (ultimate state of Nirvana).
MoCA stated that Kushinagar was handed over for operations to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in October 2019 while the regional connectivity scheme terminal was completed in October 2020. AAI then applied for the aerodrome license which got approved and issued on February 23, 2021.
India’s civil aviation minister, Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted:
