Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 13 July 2022
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) recently commissioned an Aviation Fuel Station at INS Baaz, Campbell Bay to provide refuelling facility to Civilian and Defence Aircrafts.
Availability of refuelling facility at Campbell Bay will benefit the residents of Great Nicobar as the carrying capacity of Pawan Hans Helicopters in Car Nicobar – Campbell Bay Route will increase.
Earlier Pawan Hans Helicopters operating between Port Blair and Campbell Bay used to refuel at Car Nicobar for the entire to and fro journey between Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay, due to the non-availability of refuelling facility at Campbell Bay.
Refuelling at once for the entire to and fro journey between Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay significantly reduced the passenger-carrying capacity of helicopters, as the number of passengers had to be reduced to compensate for the weight of extra fuel.
Availability of refuelling facility at Campbell Bay will now enable the same helicopter to carry extra passengers.
The residents of Great Nicobar have been demanding starting of flight services to Campbell Bay under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN. The commissioning of the Aviation Refuelling Station at Campbell Bay will go a long way in supporting the starting of flight services under UDAN.
Andaman and Nicobar Administration is said to have relentlessly pushed for the commissioning of the Aviation Fuel Station at INS Baaz.
At present IOCL is presently operating the refuelling facility as ‘On Wheel Aviation Fuel Station’ and it will be upgraded to a permanent one after the construction of static storage tanks.