Leh Airport (VILH) - Approach & Departure

Introduction

Being a Flight Sim (simulation) enthusiast, I've always been interested in 'flying' non-routine approach and departure procedures. One of the airports I've been interested in is  Leh (VILH) airport.

VILH is a high altitude airport at approximate elevation 10,700 feet (runway is sloping), in the Ladakh region of Jammu &Kashmir state, India. It is an IAF airbase, but also open to domestic civilian traffic. The runway is unidirectional, due to nearby hills near RW 25 threshold. Landing is on 07 while takeoff is from 25. Only IAF fighter jets and excess powered transporters (like An-32) can takeoff from 07.

Unfortunately, there are no plates nor any detailed information about the airport procedures anywhere on the Internet. Hence, when I visited Ladakh recently (June 2016), I decided that I would note the approach and departure procedures during the inbound and outbound flights.

Ladakh Trip (15 - 19 June 2016)

Introduction

I paid a short visit to Ladakh earlier this year, in mid June 2016.

Ladakh lies in the northern-most part of India. It lies north of the Himalayas and is a cold and dry high altitude plateau interspersed with mountain ranges.