Jamshedpur: A city waiting to fly

By Satish Mishra

How Aviation Failed JRD Tata’s Legacy

JRD Tata, pioneer aviator, founder of India’s first commercial airline, and passionate builder of national infrastructure, dreamed of a connected India. His life’s work embodied forward-thinking industrialization and visionary planning. JRD Tata remains a towering figure in India’s aviation and business history. Yet, in the city that bears the legacy of his family name and vision, Jamshedpur, aviation has failed him. It is a tragic paradox that the very birthplace of Indian aviation lies grounded in stagnation.

A City that Once Soared

Jamshedpur, the first planned industrial city of India, stood tall in the early 20th century. Among the first four aerodromes established in British India, after Gilbert Hill-Bombay, Dumdum- Calcutta, and Delhi, Jamshedpur’s Sonari Airport, erstwhile British Army’s polo ground, opened in 1928. In those days, the city was at the vanguard of modernization. The airport marked not only progress but ambition. All airports at that time had 1200 meters runway sufficient to tame little flying birds.

At the heart of this aviation legacy stood JRD Tata, who in 1932 piloted India’s first airmail flight from Karachi to Bombay. That a man so passionate about aviation was intrinsically linked to Jamshedpur made the present situation deeply ironic. For while India’s aviation sector has touched the remotest corners of the country, Jamshedpur remains virtually invisible on the air map. Interestingly as of 2024, India has approximately 137 active airports.

The fall from the sky

In the decades since Independence, cities with lesser industrial, demographic, and geographic advantages than Jamshedpur have leaped ahead, largely due to their robust air connectivity. Meanwhile, Jamshedpur, a city of steel, talent, and potential, has suffered due to an outdated and non-functional airport.

The consequences have been widespread:

• Industrial decline: Adityapur Industrial Area, the largest Industrial area in Asia has gradually declined. Logistics, raw material procurement, and market access became inefficient without air connectivity.
• Drain of talent: Educational institutions like XLRI and NIT Jamshedpur struggle with attracting and retaining faculty and students due to limited accessibility. Talented professionals, instead of staying, migrate to better-connected cities.
• Untapped tourism: The natural wonders of Dimna Lake and Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary remain underexplored. With better connectivity, these destinations could have rivalled India’s top ecotourism sites.
• Hospitality stagnation: The absence of consistent tourist and business traffic has left the city underdeveloped in terms of hotels, resorts, and MICE infrastructure.
• Sports and culture sidelined: With venues like JRD Tata Sports Complex and Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur has the infrastructure to host major events, but poor connectivity keeps it on the sidelines of national sports.
• Families divided: The affluent classes have flocked out of city. Students turned professionals shy away from visiting or are compelled to take arduous rail/train journeys.

Missed Opportunities and Broken Promises

Kingfisher Airlines briefly operated flights in 2008, and later by MDLR. Operations under UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme, with India One Air operating flights for Kolkata and Bhubaneswar in a Cessna 208 caravan remain insignificant. Political will has faltered, and bureaucratic apathy has reigned. The proposed Dhalbhumgarh Airport project, 54 kilometers from the city, had its foundation laid in 2019, remains a work hardly in progress.

It is not for a lack of merit. Jamshedpur is the 36th-largest urban agglomeration in India. It serves as the industrial heartland for Tata Steel, Tata Motors, and numerous mining and manufacturing giants. Its per capita income ranks among the highest in India. Surrounding districts in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal add further weight to the case for a regional airport.

Beyond convenience: A national imperative

In the 21st century, air travel is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Whether it’s ensuring supply chain efficiency, enabling rapid disaster response, attracting foreign investment, or offering emergency medical access, aviation is a backbone of national infrastructure. During the 2021 COVID crisis, when oxygen needed to be airlifted to Delhi, Jamshedpur’s lack of a functional airport slowed relief efforts, a stark reminder of what was at stake.

According to IATA, every $1 invested in aviation contributes $3 to the economy, and one aviation job creates six more through ripple effects.

The legacy demands continuity

JRD Tata gave India wings. He envisioned a nation where industry, innovation, and infrastructure worked in harmony. Jamshedpur, with its heritage of embracing Industry 1.0 (Steel), Industry 2.0 (Automobile), now faces the challenge of joining Industry 4.0 (AI, IoT, Smart Manufacturing). Without air connectivity, the city risks being left behind again, just as it missed the IT revolution.

Tata Steel and individual champions have kept the dream alive, but public infrastructure needs public investment and political vision. The lesson lies not just in history but in vision. It is time for India to honor JRD Tata not with memorials, but with action.

The following table may give an overview of what to expect and plan for the upcoming Airport.

A city waiting to fly

Jamshedpur has always been more than an industrial city it is an experiment in vision, a testament to planning, and a model of civic management. But vision needs wings. The denial of air connectivity to Jamshedpur is not just a logistical oversight; it is a betrayal of one of India’s greatest legacies.

The time has come to rectify this historical omission. For JRD Tata, for the people of Jamshedpur, and for the future of India it is time to let the city fly again. This time not in corporate jets; rather, enmasse.

(Author is Manager Aviation, Tata Steel. Views are personal.)