Pithoragarh: Uttarakhand’s Naini Saini airport in Pithoragarh district may be handed over to the Indian Air Force for better management of the facility, district magistrate Ashish Chauhan said on Monday.
Chauhan said chief secretary SS Sandhu, who visited the border district on Sunday, has approved the plan and will take the proposal forward.
The airstrip was built in 1991 for administrative use and upgraded to an airport in 1999 for civilian flights. The 1,600-metre airstrip can accommodate medium-capacity planes.
Chauhan said the administration has proposed handing over management of the airport to the Indian Air Force since the Airports Authority of India was not interested in managing the airport due to its poor commercial viability.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation gave the airport license to commence regular flight operations. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and then chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off the first commercial flight between Pithoragarh and Hindon airport on the outskirts of Delhi on October 8, 2018.
“The airport witnessed its first commercial flight on January 17, 2019, followed by a flight to Hindon airport on October 11, 2019… But the air services were closed from March 20, 2020 after a minor technical issue was reported at the airport,” a district official said.
{{/usCountry}}“The airport witnessed its first commercial flight on January 17, 2019, followed by a flight to Hindon airport on October 11, 2019… But the air services were closed from March 20, 2020 after a minor technical issue was reported at the airport,” a district official said.
{{/usCountry}}Chauhan said civilian flights will not be affected once the airport management vests with the air force. “If the agreement is finalised, an MoU will be signed with Air Force to let civil flights run on the lines of that in Jodhpur, Ladakh and Hindon airports, managed by Air Force, ‘’ he said.