Airport to be closed for 15 days in Feb

Pavneet Singh Chadha

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 9

The Chandigarh International Airport will remain closed for operations from February 12 to 26 next year due to runway repairs.  

The public relations officer (PRO) of Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL), Deepesh Joshi, in a statement, said: “Due to runway resurfacing work by the Indian Air Force (IAF), the runway shall remain closed from February 12 to 26, 2018. During this period, no civil and military flight will operate from Chandigarh.”  

The statement further said it was mandatory to close the runway for the completion of repairs. Repairs include re-carpeting and resurfacing of the runway. The length of runway is being extended from the present 9,000 feet to 10,400 feet to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft (Boeing 777, 787 and 747), which would facilitate long haul flights from Chandigarh to popular destinations in Europe, the USA, Canada and the UK.  

Besides, the CAT III instrument landing system would be installed to assist in landing when visibility is low.

The CHIAL CEO, Suneel Dutt, said: “The upgraded runway will be a gift for the region as it will facilitate wide-bodied aircraft and will help the passengers of five adjoining states. As per the open skies policy of the Government of India, it will attract several airlines operators to operate flights from Chandigarh to countries beyond 5,000 km, which would not have been possible on the existing runway.”

In the recent hearing of the airport case at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Division Bench was informed that the airport would remain shut for 15 days each on two occasions. At present, the runway remains closed from 4 pm to 5 am from Monday to Saturday. There are no flights on Sundays.

Maiden Bangkok flight fare shoots up

With one day to go for the maiden Air India flight from Chandigarh to Bangkok, airport officials said the flight had received 120 bookings, leaving 30 seats vacant in the economy class. 

Starting from December 11, the flight to the tourist destination will operate thrice a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The duration of flight is 5 hours and 30 minutes and the aircraft, Airbus 320 Neo, has a maximum capacity of 162 passengers, including 12 seats in the business class and 150 seats in the economy class.

The local station manager, Air India, RK Negi, said: “The response to the flight has been encouraging, considering it is the maiden flight. Bookings are expected to pick up as the festive season (Christmas, New Year) approaches.” 

Meanwhile, the fare for a return flight has surged to Rs 22,000-23,000. With demand picking up, the fare is expected to further rise as the year draws to a close. 

Till last week, the tickets were available at a price of Rs 16,000-17,000. 

Award for airport

The Chandigarh International Airport has been conferred the award of ‘Smartest building’ in the “Mid-sized Airport Building” category during an award ceremony organised by Network 18 and Honeywell Smart Building Awards 2017 at Taj Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi. “It is a proud moment for the Chandigarh Airport to bag such a prestigious award. With continuous innovation, we are treading the path to make it more user friendly through dedicated radio service, high speed Wi-Fi and an automotive system being installed in the building,” said Suneel Dutt, CEO, Chandigarh International Airport Limited.

‘A gift for region’

"The upgraded runway will be a gift for the region as it will facilitate wide-bodied aircraft and will help the passengers of five adjoining states. As per the open skies policy of the Government of India, it will attract several airlines operators to operate flights from Chandigarh to countries beyond 5,000 km, which would not have been possible on the existing runway." Suneel Dutt, CEO of CHIAL