Adampur airport set to miss Diwali deadline

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 16

In yet another embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab after the Gurdaspur bypoll rout, the Adampur domestic airport, touted as a major achievement for the party, is set to miss its second deadline, scheduled for Diwali.

After missing its first deadline on September 25, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Union Minister of State and state BJP chief Vijay Sampla seems to be falling short of offering the much-promised Diwali gift to Doaba region.

While the district administration is almost through with the work, the authorities are yet to approve the strength of the runaway.

According to Deputy Commissioner Varinder Sharma, the runway at the site was laid for the use of fighter jets but the runway specifications for commercial planes are different. “The airlines will check the strength of the runway before landing the first plane here. Also, the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has raised certain objections pertaining to the security checks that will take some time to rectify,” said Sharma.

Meanwhile, the travel operators remained uncertain about the commencement of flight operations by the end of the year. “The airlines operator is yet to introduce the flight in its national booking system. It is still not clear to us whether the airlines is waiting for approval from the DGCA to operate or is not interested in operating in the region,” said Mohit Sharma, general secretary, Punjab Travel Agents Association (PTAA).

While the Indian Airlines had initially assured of commencing its operations in Doaba, it later backed out after assessing the low traffic turnout expected at Adampur. Sources informed that many airlines after suffering huge losses at Amritsar, Ludhiana and Mohali airport too refused to extend their operations at Adampur.