The Punjab government on Monday urged the Centre to resume domestic flights from Adampur, Pathankot, Sahnewal, and Bhatinda airports in the state. Principal Secretary of Civil Aviation of Punjab Rahul Bhandari made the appeal during an event here.
He said these airports were part of the regional connectivity service of the Government of India and services from these airports were stopped during the coronavirus pandemic. This has given a major blow to air connectivity in the region, thereby creating a lot of inconvenience to passengers, Bhandari said.
The official said this must be reversed and the Centre must immediately resume flights from these airports. He said this will help in saving time, money, and energy of people besides ensuring direct air connectivity across the country. Bhandari said it will also give a major fillip to the economic activity in the region.
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Flagging another issue, the principal secretary urged the central government to expedite the construction of a civil terminal at Halwara airport. He said the land for it has already been given by the Punjab government and the work on this ambitious project to be completed at Rs 46 crore has already begun. He said the need of the hour is to speed up the work for its early completion.
Bhandari also said the terminal of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh has been constructed on land falling in the revenue district of SAS Nagar, Mohali but, unfortunately, the name of Mohali is missing from the airport’s name. He said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already lodged a protest with the Centre for not including the name of Mohali city in the name of this airport and added this legitimate demand should be looked into.
The official also sought more international flights from the airport, noting that more than Rs 450 crore has been spent on the facelift of this world-class airport. Starting more international flights will help NRIs from Punjab to stay connected with their roots, he said, adding that people from not only Punjab but Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand too will benefit from it.
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