MARKET STRUCTURE · INDIA
Assam requests additional emergency landing facilities (highway airstrips) from India’s Centre
Change
Assam’s government said on Feb. 15, 2026 it has formally written to India’s Centre seeking 4–5 additional emergency landing facilities (ELFs) after the Moran Bypass ELF was inaugurated and used for the PM’s C-130J touchdown on Feb. 14.
Why it matters
Assam has asked the Union government for four to five more ELFs, positioning them as assets for Indian Air Force use and for moving relief materials during floods. The request follows the inauguration of the 4.2-km Moran Bypass ELF in Dibrugarh district and its immediate operational use for a C-130J carrying the Prime Minister. Assam’s stated rationale links ELFs to strategic security in the Northeast and to disaster logistics, implying a broader network rather than a single site. Any Centre approval would expand the number of locations capable of supporting fixed-wing military transport and rapid relief staging in the state. Timing pressure is tied to the post-inauguration window where site selection and clearances can be sequenced while the project has high central visibility.
Implications
- • Potential increase in IAF dispersal/airlift nodes in Assam if Centre approves ELFs
- • Expanded flood-relief air logistics capacity via additional highway airstrips
- • More land/road corridor segments may be reserved for dual-use aviation requirements
- • Higher coordination load across state agencies, MoD/IAF, and road authorities
Who is affected
- • Assam state government (transport, disaster management, and infrastructure agencies)
- • Indian Air Force and India’s Ministry of Defence logistics planners
- • National Highways/road construction and maintenance authorities in Assam
- • Communities and businesses along corridors selected for ELF development
Source
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