Tata Steel plans airport in Jamshedpur
The Economic Times — August 26, 2007

Tata Steel, the world's sixth largest maker of the alloy, plans to build an airport here to improve air connectivity from the city to other parts of the country, company managing director B Muthuraman said on Sunday.

The steel major has already located land at Adityapur in adjoining Saraikela-Kharswan district for the airport which will have a 7,000 ft long runway. "However, everything is not in our hands," Muthuraman said.

He was speaking on the occasion of inaugural Kolkata-Jamshedpur flight of Air Deccan at Sonari aerodrome, marking the centenary celebrations of first private steel plant of the country, Tata Steel.

Asked why Tata Steel was not interested in upgrading the existing aerodrome, Muthuraman said there were restrictions in doing that. "That is why we are planning to have a new airport."

The proposed airport would help the steel city to bring business here and help it to grow faster, he said.

Appreciating Air Deccan, he said Tata Steel officials had taken initiative to start air connectivity between Jamshedpur and Kolkata and discussed with many players. Things materialised with Air Deccan following negotiations during the past one-and-a-half years, Muthuraman said.

The association of Tatas with aviation is not new. Tatas were the pioneers in starting commercial flights in India through Tata Airlines under the stewardship of JRD Tata. The group has always been passionate about aviation and this initative by Air Deccan has now put Jamshedpur on the air travel map, he said.

To make Air Deccan's operations viable, Tata Steel will underwrite certain percentage of seats in each flight, Muthuraman said.

The 48-seater ATR-42 500 plane, which brought Tata Steel's guests, officials and mediamen, was flagged off by Muthuraman for its return flight to Kolkata.

Initially, the low-cost carrier will operate one flight daily and later on it has plans to operate morning and evening flights, Air Deccan CEO Ramki Sundaram said.

Over the last century, Sundaram said, Tata Steel has not only prioneered and succeeded in making India a global leader of steel production but built a legacy of business ethics.

"We have long desired to bring the hub of India's steel and engineering industries on the aviation map. With the launch of our connectivity to Jamshedpur, we are confident that the city will embark on another phase of growth," he said.