NCC’s airstrip at Peerumade nearing completion

For training Air Wing cadets in flying small aircraft

If things go as planned, an aircraft will land for the first time in Idukki, at the NCC (National Cadet Corps) airstrip being readied at Satram in Peerumade on November 1.

This is the NCC’s only airstrip in the country and is being constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD). The airstrip will provide training for NCC Air Wing cadets in flying small aircraft and there will be facilities for their accommodation. The NCC will provide training to 1,000 cadets at the facility in a year. The NCC’s two-seater Virus SW-80 aircraft will be the first one to land on the airstrip, according to officials.

NCC Kerala Deputy Director General Brigadier P.K. Sunilkumar on Wednesday said some more works were to be finished and the plan was to open the airstrip as early as possible. “It is for training cadets in microlight aircraft,” he said adding the facilities could be used for the public in emergency situations. “It is a State asset and the government can decide on using it in emergency situations,” he said.