Chandigarh International Airport is gearing up for the foggy winters ahead. On the Punjab and Haryana High court directions, the airport is going to acquire 128 acres of land for constructing a parallel runway that will be operational during zero-visibility fog.
Now, there is only one runway and it cannot be upgraded to CAT-III-B facility. The old runway, however, would remain CAT-II compliant, operational in moderate fog conditions (runway visibility of around 300 metres). The length of the new CAT-III-B-compliant runway will be 3.3 km.
The land for the purpose has already been zeroed-in. In Chandigarh, 64-acre land will be acquired at Tatarpur, Chahar Taraf and Burail villages, and the farmers will be paid Rs 1.15 crore per acre. In Punjab, 64 acres of land will be acquired in Khandala village of SAS Nagar and farmers will be paid Rs 1.28 crore per acre. In total, the authorities will be spending Rs 400 crore for acquisition of land.
Chandigarh International Airport to add two more international flights in the coming March
After Sharjah and Dubai, the Air India will begin its maiden flight to Singapore and Bangkok in the last week of March next year. It will be three days in a week.
Chandigarh International Airport still lacking in basic facilities
Even after getting the status of an international airport, the airport is still to provide basic facilities to the passengers. There is no W-Fi, money exchange, additional ATMs and duty free shops etc at the airport.
Airport Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Suniel Dutt said, “We have floated the tenders but did not get adequate response. We will float them again or will allot work without floating the tenders as per rules.”
ChandigarhX hopes to see an internationally accepted standards airport beaming here in Chandigarh real soon.
Image Credits: Google Images
Coverage: Hindustan Times