Muzaffarpur Airport

Muzaffarpur Airport (IATA: MZU, ICAO: VEMZ) is located at Muzaffarpur in the state of Bihar, in India. It was to be built for the arrival of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India. From 1967 to 1982, flights for Patna operated on a regular basis from airport based in Patahi.

In October 2025, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued a tender for the development and upgradation of Muzaffarpur Airport, also known as Patahi Airport, located in Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, India.

The Indian government has approved small aircraft operations from seven cities in Bihar under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) regional connectivity scheme, aiming to boost air connectivity and stimulate economic development across the state.

To support this initiative, the central government has allocated approximately ₹190 crore for the development and operationalization of airports in Birpur, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhubani, Munger, Muzaffarpur (Patahi Airport), Purnia & Valmikinagar

The airport infrastructure work will be undertaken by the Airports Authority of India, and a memorandum of understding (MoU) will be signed between the Bihar state government and AAI to facilitate project execution.

This decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by the Secretary of Civil Aviation at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, New Delhi. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is currently evaluating detailed project proposals and timelines for implementation.

As part of this initiative, Muzaffarpur Airport is being upgraded to support operations for Code-2B type aircraft. AAI released a tender in EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) mode with an estimated cost of ₹28.58 crore.^[1][2][3][4]

• Feasibility of Proposal - Preliminary visual assessment indicates that operationalisation of Patahi Airport under ARC-2B and ARC-3C is technically feasible.
• Land Requirements - Operationalisation of Patahi Airport under ARC-2B will require no additional land from the State Government. However, for ARC-3C under VFR would require 228 acres of additional land, with a further 90 acres needed for upgradation to ARC-3C under IFR. This is subject to the favourable outcome of the OLS and LiDAR surveys, removal of obstacies, compliance with the observations of this report, GSR-751(E)/GSR-770(E), other statutory directives of the Government of India, NCAP-2016 of MoCA, and necessary clearances from the MoEF&CC and other relevant Ministries.
• Runway Characteristics - For ARC-2B - Runway 11/29 of 1050m x 30m having suitable PCR value at the location of existing brick runway. For ARC-3C - Runway 11/29 of 1800m x 45m having suitable PCR value at the location of runway proposed in the Master Plan document, shared with State Govt. vide AAl letter dated 24 May 2024.
• Airspace - VFR operations at Patahi Airport appears to be feasible considering the current airspace classification and surrounding terrain conditions. The design and implementation of Instrument Flight Procedures (IFPs) appears to be technically feasible at Patahi Airport. However, an OLS survey needs to be carried out for the final assessment of feasibility of IFP.
• Site Surroundings & Site Topography - OLS survey would require to be conducted to identify existing obstacles that need to be removed, lowered, or marked to ensure safe operations and also to create a series of surfaces that define the airspace around the airport, including approach and departure surfaces, transitional surfaces, and horizontal surfaces. ^[5]

In Phase 1, the airport will support 19-seater aircraft operations and serve as a base for Flying Training Organisations (FTOs).^[6]

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