The runway is 5,400 feet runway is too short for wide-bodied jets to land or take off. Even small 119-seat Boeing jets, which are allowed to land here, cannot take off with a full passenger load.

Says an official of one airline: "Despite the demand for reservations we have to deny more than 80 seats because the aircraft cannot take off with full capacity on this runway. The air travel potential has definitely developed in Rajkot, and demand is sometimes heavy, but we cannot oblige."

Devendra Shah of Devendra Travels agrees. He says, "There are enough people wanting to travel by air. What is needed is extension of the runway so that we can provide the service."

The plan to extend the runaway could not be implemented as the airport does not have open space on its sides, leaving little scope for changes.

Development in Rajkot,the business capital of the Saurashtra region, has lead to increase in the number of people travelling by air.

An airline manager says if the runway is extended, airlines will be willing to immediately start using bigger aircraft. "The demand for seats is there and we will be able to do good business," he said.

The problem is that there isn't any land for the extension. The plan includes areas which are now covered with slums. Some of the land is owned by the railways. And the proposed extended runway also covers the bridge on the Rajkot-Jamnagar highway.

Airport Officer Naresh Kumar Chaudhary says that at present the proposal for the extension is with headquarters. He believes that the proposal will take a long time to be implemented as several factors are involved.

Sources said the task seems impossible. The slum-dwellers are bound to oppose the removal of their shanties. Besides, the airport authorities will have to acquire land from the railways.

The authorities are also considering shifting theairport outside the city limits.