Domestic flights from Hisar airport in six months

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 20

Domestic flights from the Hisar International Aviation Hub will begin in six months as one operator has bid under the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The hub, meanwhile, will be developed in three phases.

Sources say Pinnacle Air Private Limited has shown interest in the bids floated by the Union Civil Aviation Ministry under the scheme’s UDAAN (Uday Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) programme.

Under the programme, the passenger is required to pay Rs 2,500, while the viability gap (difference between the actual fare and the fare paid by the passenger) for 50 per cent of seats is met by the Central and state governments in a ratio of 80:20.

With the Manohar Lal Khattar government keen to begin operations from Hisar, it has been decided that the state government will foot the bill of the viability gap for another 25 per cent of the seats. Also, the state government will allow reduced VAT rates on fuel for aircraft as also nominal charges for parking at the airport under an MoU signed with the Centre.

Sources say domestic flights will begin as part of the first phase of establishing the hub. A departure and arrival terminal will be constructed, the runway will be strengthened, several services such as fire safety and security will be put in place before the airport is made operational.

“We need six months to complete several construction activities at the airport which is being treated as a ‘brownfield’ airport since one flight has operated from Hisar in the past. This will help us in getting faster clearances since it has led to a few relaxations which are not available to a greenfield airport,” Devender Singh (Principal Secretary), Civil Aviation, said, adding the government’s interest in airports and its projects is evident from the fact that 200 crores had been earmarked in this year’s Budget.

In the second phase which will take another year, the length of the airstrip will be increased from 4,000 ft to 9,000 ft. This will enable several types of aircraft to land, while night landing will also be introduced.

Sources say the idea is to gain from the congestion at the Delhi airport and offer parking facilities for planes. Besides, Fixed Base Operations (FBO) will be started as part of the establishment of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) workshop.

In the third phase, the aviation hub will begin international operations for passengers and cargo. With 4,200 acres at its disposal, the government is certain that the Hisar airport will become operational before UP’s Jewar International Airport since the government in that state is still in the process of acquiring land.

Also on the cards are a civil aviation academy, aerospace- and defence-related manufacturing, and an aviation university.