Naini Airfield

Military Decommissioning and Redundancy. The airfield was a purpose-built wartime base. After the war ended, its strategic importance vanished. The nearby and larger Bamrauli Air Force Station (now Prayagraj Airport, IXD) was sufficient for the region's military and future civilian needs, making Naini Airfield redundant. It was subsequently handed over for other government use rather than being maintained for aviation.

The site is no longer an airport and is unrecognizable as such from the ground. The land has been completely repurposed and is now a major campus for Indian paramilitary forces, primarily under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The main occupants are the Central Training College of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the headquarters of the 101 Battalion of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialized wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). While the faint, triangular outline of the original WWII-era runways is still visible from satellite imagery, the area is now covered with barracks, administrative buildings, training grounds, firing ranges, and internal roads.

Naini Airfield, historically known as RAF Iradatganj, was a major Allied airbase during World War II in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. Its primary role was not as a combat base but as a critical support and logistics hub. It hosted the Royal Air Force's No. 320 Maintenance Unit, which was responsible for assembling, repairing, and salvaging a wide range of aircraft. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) also used it extensively as a supply and maintenance depot for the Tenth Air Force and as a key station for the Air Transport Command (ATC), which flew vital supplies over 'The Hump' to China. Its operations were crucial for sustaining the Allied war effort in the region.

There have been intermittent discussions and proposals by the Uttar Pradesh state government to develop the site as a second airport for the Prayagraj region, intended to handle cargo, Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services, or to be included in the UDAN regional connectivity scheme to decongest the main airport. However, these plans face a significant obstacle as the land is heavily occupied by the established and critical training centers for the ITBP and RAF. Relocating these large paramilitary bases would be a massive, expensive, and logistically complex undertaking. As of now, there are no concrete or approved plans for its reopening, and official focus remains on expanding the existing Prayagraj Airport (IXD).