Landing in Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer - Rajasthan - India
This short post is about travelling from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, in the westernmost part of Rajasthan, and in the beautiful arid heart of the Thar Desert.
We took an early afternoon turboprop flight from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer on Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher’s service is spectacularly good, which has been a pleasant surprise. In the middle of this short flight, the pilot requested that Zola come up to the cockpit (through two sets of locked doors), which was a cool experience for him.
Jodhpur and Jaisalmer airports are also working bases for the Indian Air Force. In Jodhpur this just meant a little extra security on the ground. As we flew into Jaisalmer, over the “flat as a chapati” Thar desert, we could see that the airfield awaiting us was on much more of a war footing.
Jaisalmer is about 30 km from the Pakistani border, meaning that it would take a Pakistani warplane (an F-15 or F-16) less than two minutes to reach the air base after crossing into Indian airspace.
From the air, we could see squads of fighter planes lined up on multiple runways. Zola and I counted at least [censored - IAF] which looked ready for immediate action. We could also see networks of fortified hangars, bunkers, and a big perimeter wall. We did not see the anti-aircraft systems, but I’m sure they are there.
The Kingfisher flight landed in a remote corner of the airfield, and the 20 or so tourists on board stumbled off, to be greeted by an IAF officer and several sub-machine-gun wielding enlisted men. We had to walk about 200 meters across the desert to a bus that would take us to the terminal. We appeared to be the only civilian flight at the airfield.
Zola, of course, was very excited by all of this. As we walked, he asked me, in a loud voice, “How far did you say Pakistan is from here, Dad?” Then he asked, “Dad, when was the last time Pakistan invaded? Do you think they are going to invade again?” The last two questions visibly startled the IAF officer who was escorting us, so I did my best to laugh and make hushing noises. Just then we heard several boom noises in the distace, which were probably big-gun target practice or firing drills.
We piled onto the old (civilian) bus, and moved out down the runway. We drove past about [censored - IAF] planes, and finally reached the gate which separated the military operations from the civilian passenger terminal.
Unfortunately the gate was locked, so we sat in the heat for about 20 minutes while the guards searched for the officer with the key. Many vehicles drove to and from the area where our plane landed, and to a HQ-looking building in the [censored - IAF]. Finally, the key was found, and we were released back to the baggage claim and waiting taxis of civilian control.
All jokes aside, this was a stark reminder that India “lives in a tough neighborhood.” All seems quiet on the Western front, but muscular deterrence is clearly a serious business.