Experts laud proposal for airport expansion

Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 31
Aviation experts have appreciated the district administration’s proposal for expanding the Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport and said that nothing less than doubling the present capacity of the airport will work keeping in view the rising footfall.
Before Covid-19, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation proposed to expand the integrated passenger terminal building at a cost of Rs 240 crore. Barring the years of pandemic-induced economic crisis, the airport has been recording a spike in domestic and international passenger footfall for the past five years.
The peak hour passenger handling capacity, currently at around 2,000, has seen an improvement from 1,650 passengers with the addition of the newly remodelled terminal building in 2019, the recent installation of an in-line X-ray baggage handling system, increase in the number of security check counters and the remodelling of passenger check-in area.
Gunbir Singh, an aviation expert, favoured doubling of passenger capacity at the airport. Lauding the call for expansion of airport capacity and the letters to this effect written by Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori to the state and Union governments, he said the issue at this juncture is whether this increase itself will be adequate? The holy city has more than 35 million pilgrims and tourists visiting the Golden Temple annually. It is no secret that the preference for air travel is increasing and figures for domestic travel in the country and city prove this.
“The number of airlines flying in to meet the demand and thus have a hand in the business opportunity is only being curtailed by the civil aviation policies that favour the Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi. Yet demand for international connections to the holy city has risen. International traffic during 2023 at the airport has increased by 30 per cent, and domestic by 20 per cent. It is also essential to mention that Amritsar is the cultural and spiritual capital of Punjab, with obvious synergies to the hill states where weather vagaries make air service unreliable.”
Keeping these in view, the city airport requires a plan for expansion way beyond the 20 per cent or so perceived from the present carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers at one time. A 10-year plan is the minimum which thus merits a doubling of capacities considering that the execution of the plan itself will take a few years.
Yogesh Kamra, Convener (India), FlyAmritsar Initiative and former member of the Airport Advisory Committee, said the current infrastructure is becoming inadequate to handle the growing number of travellers, leading to congestion and delays. Expanding and modernising the terminal will not only alleviate these issues but also enhance the overall passenger experience and support the region’s economic growth.
In a letter to the previous Minister of Civil Aviation and AAI Chairman in May 2024, the Initiative highlighted various issues encountered by passengers. In reply to an RTI query filed by Kamra in May this year, the AAI responded that the expansion of existing terminal building is in the planning stage.

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