Jammu airport terminal upgraded

Jammu, August 17

Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Union Minister for Civil Aviation P Ashok Gajapathi Raju today inaugurated the much-awaited upgraded terminal of Jammu Airport. Mehbooba also promised land near the Jammu-Kathua highway for a bigger second airport in Jammu.

Jammu Airport comes under the Ministry of Defence while the Airports Authority of India (AAI) maintains the Civil Enclave for civil aircraft operations. To cater to the increasing number of passengers, the terminal building has been expanded from 6,700 sqm to 14,500 sqm with an upgraded peak hour handling capacity of 720 passengers at a time from the existing 360 passengers.

“Today, a new beginning has been made by upgrading the terminal building with modern facilities,” Mehbooba said while addressing a gathering here. She said that the new terminal would go a long way in fulfilling her father and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s dream of developing Jammu as an independent tourist destination. “Jammu has many tourist places and it has the potential to emerge as an independent tourist destination and the state government is working towards it,” the Chief Minister said.

She also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying emphasis on development and said that “the country is moving like an elephant on the path of progress”.

Union Minister Raju hailed those who worked overtime to complete the project. “India’s aviation industry is the fastest growing industry in the world and we hope it will become the biggest in the world,” he said.

“With the upgraded Jammu Airport, we would be better prepared to give improved services to air travellers visiting this city of temples,” the Union Minster said. While acknowledging the need for a bigger airport in Jammu, Raju said the ministry will immediately give its approval if the state government provided land for it. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh were also present at the inauguration ceremony. — TNS