Airport to reopen on February 27

Tribune News Service

Mohali, February 23

The Chandigarh international airport will reopen for civil and military operations on Tuesday (February 27) after remaining closed for a fortnight from February 11 to 26.

The airport has been closed for runway repairs and re-carpeting work, including extending the length from the current 9,000 ft to 10,400 ft, in order to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft, which will facilitate long-haul flights from Chandigarh.

According to estimates, over 60,000 passengers are expected to be affected due to the disruption, with a majority of the traffic diverted to Delhi and Amritsar.

Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) CEO Suneel Dutt said, “The airport will resume operations from February 27. The watch hours will remain the same and there are no major changes in the schedule. In the summer schedule (end of March), it is likely that the watch hours will be extended by an hour.” Dutt said the airport would remain closed for another two weeks later in the year, but the dates were yet to be confirmed.

An airport official said during the 15-day closure, work on stress absorbing membrane inter-layer was under way.

Sources said at a meeting between all stakeholders on February 12, it had been proposed that the next period of closure be kept from May 15 to May 28. However, a final decision regarding the proposed dates would be taken in the first week of March.

CHIAL PRO Deepesh Joshi said in the summer schedule, three new flights to Indore, Ahmedabad and Kolkata were   proposed to be included.

Airline carriers, including Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet, are yet to announce any major changes in the earlier schedule.

The IAF has curtailed the watch hours at the airport from October 3 to March 31, 2018, with the runway available for commercial flights from 5 am to 4 pm and no flights on Sundays.

Sharjah flight to operate from Tuesday

Air India officials said the international flight to Sharjah would operate from Chandigarh from February 27. The flight was shifted and has been operating from the Amritsar airport.

RK Negi, local station manager, Air India, said, “The flight was shifted for an interim period till the runway was closed. From Tuesday, it will run as per its original schedule.” Negi said the Chandigarh-Kullu flight, which was temporarily suspended in the winter season, had been included in the schedule.