Govt exploring options to develop airport in Karnal

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 13

The state government has again started exploring the possibility of developing a domestic airport in Karnal at the site of the Karnal Aviation Club. Spearheading the initiative, Civil Aviation and Health Minister Dr Kamal Gupta conducted a comprehensive inspection of the club on Thursday.

Minister visits aviation club

Haryana Civil Aviation and Health Minister Dr Kamal Gupta conducted a comprehensive inspection of the Karnal Aviation Club on Thursday.

The expansion of the Karnal Aviation Club is a long-awaited project, which aims to open up new avenues for air travel, bringing Karnal closer to the rest of the country.

In 2012, the previous Congress government had announced the expansion of this club into a domestic airport. Later, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the development of the Karnal Civil Aviation Club as a domestic airport on November 8, 2014, but it was later limited to the expansion and renovation of the aviation club. In February 2021, the High Powered Purchase Committee, headed by the then CM Khattar, approved the expansion and renovation of the club.

After reviewing the club, Dr Gupta highlighted the state government’s plan to explore the possibility of developing the runways out of five runways into domestic airports wherever feasible. “There are five runways in Karnal, Ambala, Pinjore, Narnaul, and Bhiwani. We are planning to expand them with more facilities. Surveys of these runways are being conducted and possibilities for developing domestic airports are being explored. After surveying all these runways, domestic airports will be built wherever feasible,” said Dr Gupta.

“Former CM and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and CM Nayab Singh Saini want to develop a domestic airport in Karnal. After inspecting the runways in Pinjore and Ambala, I came to review the Karnal Aviation Club. A decision will be made after receiving the feasibility report from the officials to determine whether the domestic airport project in Karnal can be implemented. If the feasibility report is approved by the relevant department, the government will implement the plan as soon as possible,” Gupta added.

While discussing various points about expanding the club into a domestic airport with the officials of the Aviation Department, Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh, and others, Dr Gupta directed the authorities to explore all options. Rishi Sachdeva, XEN PWD (B&R), said work on the boundary wall of the recently acquired land was going on, with nearly 50 per cent of the work completed.