Chandigarh, May 11: Inclement weather will not delay the opening of the Chandigarh International Airport after the carrying out of repair work. It will remain operational from 7 am to 6 pm from June. From July, it will remain operational from 1 pm to 6 pm every Sunday. Information to this effect was given by the Airport Authority before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
As the case came up for resumed hearing before a Division Bench, a status report was placed for perusal by the Air Force authorities.
Among other things, it said work to be carried out during the evening hours was delayed because of the adverse weather conditions during the past few days. In fact, work was lagging behind by four days.
Appearing before the Bench, Assistant Solicitor-General of India Chetan Mittal said opening of the airport would not be delayed. The airport would remain closed from May 12 to 31, as per the schedule announced earlier. A detailed status report on the issue would be placed before the Bench on May 25. The Bench was also told that in an attempt to cover up the time lost, the airport would remain closed on every Sunday.
On the issue of illuminating the airport for night landing, Mittal said work had been initiated. Taking a note of the assertion, the Bench directed that the issue was required to be finalised before the next date of hearing.
Chandigarh International Airport is to remain closed, in accordance with the initial schedule, from May 12 to 31 for ongoing runway upgrade.
The Indian Air Force had initially requested for closure of the airport between May 12 and May 31, or May 14 and June 2 for laying final layers during the re-carpeting process.
The authorities had claimed that the runway length was being extended from the present 9,000 feet to 10,400 feet to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft, such as Boeing 777, 787 and 747 for facilitating long haul flights from Chandigarh to destinations in Europe, the US, Canada and the UK.
The matter had reached the High Court after Mohali Industries Association had filed a petition in public interest, seeking directions to the Union of India to submit a status report on re-carpeting and upgrade of the runway.
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