Govt bigwigs to board first civil flight

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 9

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will inaugurate the civil terminal Bathinda airport on December 11 while Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju will preside over the ceremony.

The day will also mark the launch of first civil flight from Delhi to Bathinda of Alliance Air with the Civil Aviation Minister, Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on board.

Giving this information here today, Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori said the terminal had been developed at a cost of around Rs 25 crore, using glass and steel to allow maximum use of natural light.

The airport has various passenger facilities such as conveyor belts, baggage area, fire extinguishers and car parking. The terminal has been planned keeping in view its future needs.

A canopy made towards the city area joins the main hall with the rest of the building that gives passengers environment-friendly sitting arrangement.

The Deputy Commissioner said the airport was just 30 km away from the Bathinda railway station and 7 km from National Highway 10 (Bathinda-Malout road).

Thori said Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, chairman of the Airports Authority of India, Vijay Sampla, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Shwait Malik, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Sarup Chand Singla, Member of Legislative Assembly (Bathinda Urban) and Sardar Darshan Singh Kotfatta, Member of Legislative Assembly (Bathinda Rural) would also be present at the event.

The Deputy Commissioner said there would be three flights a week from Bathinda — every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

The flight will take off at 12:15 noon from Delhi and arrive at 1:45 pm in Bathinda. It will leave from Bathinda at 2:15 pm and reach Delhi at 3:45 pm.