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Khattar meets Naidu, takes up expansion of Karnal Airport
In a statement, Khattar said that he had detailed discussions on expanding air services in his parliamentary constituency, Karnal and was confident that in the coming years, Karnal will establish a distinct identity on India’s air map
Stalled for over a decade, the expansion of Karnal Airport was taken up by Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar with his counterpart, Union minister of civil aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, at a meeting in Delhi on Friday.
In a statement, Khattar said that he had detailed discussions on expanding air services in his parliamentary constituency, Karnal and was confident that in the coming years, Karnal will establish a distinct identity on India’s air map.
“The UDAN scheme, launched by the respected Prime Minister in 2015, was centred on his vision that even those wearing slippers could travel by air. Today, India has made unprecedented progress in the field of civil aviation, as reflected in the doubling of airports over the past decade and the improved connectivity to remote areas,” he said.
Karnal, home to one of the oldest aviation clubs in the region since 1966, has trained countless pilots – both commercial and private – under different courses under the Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation.
Spread across nearly 171 acres of land in Kalvehri village, nearly 8km from the town, the Karnal Aerodrome has a runway of 3000’x150’, a hangar, administration block, boys hostel, two officers’ residential quarters and a VIP lounge.
Karnal deputy commissioner (DC) Uttam Singh, who was present at the meeting with Khattar, said that a study will be conducted at the existing airport to determine whether there should be an expansion at the current site or if the facility should be shifted to some other location.
However, the DC, emphasised that there are positive signs that soon commercial flights will operate from Karnal Airport. If approved, officials said, this will be the third domestic airport in Haryana after Hisar and Ambala.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in April this year inaugurated the first commercial flight to Ayodhya from Hisar Airport, while the construction at Civil Enclave in Ambala is complete and formalities, and inauguration is pending.
Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand said that the airport will prove to be a milestone for the region with its strategic location along NH 44, which is also at the centre of national capital Delhi and state capital Chandigarh.
