No new int’l flights soon

Kaveesha Kohli 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 5

The Chandigarh airport is now equipped to manage more international flights, but you won’t be flying to new destinations abroad just yet.

At present, the airport has flights to just two international destinations — Dubai and Sharjah. 

According to Sunil Dutt, CEO of the Chandigarh airport, at present, there are no plans to start new international flights from the airport. So far, he has not been contacted by any airlines expressing interest in connecting the city to foreign destinations. 

“The main step that we have taken in order to equip the airport for international flights is extending the length of the runway from 9,000 ft to 10,400 ft. The airport will also be operational 24x7 from April 10,” he said. 

The number of flights has already gone up to 38 from the existing 34 and flights will also start operating at night, with the last flight coming in from Bengaluru at 11.35 pm, beginning April 30. 

The Indian Air Force is installing the CAT ILS-III at the airport. The system, which is expected to be put into place by September or October this year, will enable flights to land safely even in case of low visibility. 

“At present, the visibility requirement is around 1,200 m, but once the system is put in place, it will only be 350 m,” said Dutt. According to ASSOCHAM secretary general Uday Kumar Varma, international flights will help the city attract large-scale private sector investment, spur job creation in IT and biotech industries and provide access to “strong consumption markets in northern India”.

“It will help establish the UT as a preferred MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) destination for hosting seminars, conventions, trade shows/festivals, thereby promoting growth of the tourism and hospitality industry,” he said. 

According to Subhash Goyal, secretary of the Federation of Associations of Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), international flights operating from Chandigarh will be a gateway to Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu.