In huge relief for the Punjabi diaspora in the United Kingdom and local industry, the Chandigarh International Airport is likely to start a direct flight to London by October.
“The authorities had a meeting with the British High Commission for starting the flight to London. Proposals have been sent and it is expected to start from October, as the process will take nearly eight months to complete. The direct flight will most likely be to the Heathrow Airport in London or Birmingham airport, which is around 170km from the UK capital,” said Rakesh Dembla, chief executive officer, Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHAIL), adding that the proposal was also being pushed by Chandigarh member of Parliament Kirron Kher.
Over six years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chandigarh International Airport on September 11, 2015, the airport still has only two international flights – to Sharjah and Dubai, which were also stalled multiple times amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dembla said the Sharjah flight was operational currently, while that to Dubai will resume from March 28, when the summer flight schedule will kick in. The detailed summer schedule is expected to be released in the first week of March.
“Apart from resuming the twice-a-week Dubai flight, the plan is to increase domestic flights from 56 to 76 (both arrivals and departures). With this, most of the country will be covered from Chandigarh,” he said.
Hailing the proposed flight to London, Anurag Aggarwal, president, Mohali Industries Association, said, “It has been a major demand of industrialists, who have for long persevered for more international flights from Chandigarh, even through a case in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The international airport was built for promotion of trade, which is possible only through connectivity to multiple parts of the world, along with a wide domestic network.”
While campaigning for the Punjab assembly elections in Mohali earlier in February, Union minister for aviation and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had assured to do the needful for starting flights from Chandigarh to Europe and North America.
{{/usCountry}}While campaigning for the Punjab assembly elections in Mohali earlier in February, Union minister for aviation and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri had assured to do the needful for starting flights from Chandigarh to Europe and North America.
{{/usCountry}}Footfall improves
Meanwhile, with the Covid cases waning, the airport has also started recording more business.
KP Singh, spokesperson of the airport, said, “Between January and mid-February, the airport saw a 40% drop in its footfall, which was down to 6,000 a day. But over the past one week, it has increased to 10,000 with more people resuming travel by air.”
Four months after launch, cargo facility yet to take off
Even though the air cargo facility at the airport was launched in November 2021, its operations have yet to kick off for want of approvals from the Airport of Authority of India.
Dembla said some approvals regarding customs and security clearances were awaited from the authority, but should be in before the end of March.
Air cargo or air freight allows speedy transportation of commercial goods through an air carrier.
The cargo complex has been set up on 14,127 square metres at a cost of ₹11.5 crore. The five cargo sheds are equipped to handle both domestic and international cargo, including perishable goods. Rates for various consignments to be handled by the facility were approved ahead of the inauguration in October last year.
At present, CHAIL only provides a common screening facility for domestic cargo, while the airlines — Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and GoAir — are handling the goods on their own.