Govt for re-activating 400 airstrips

New Delhi: To meet the needs of the burgeoning air traffic in the country, civil aviation ministry will talk to state governments to develop a "national grid" for aviation by re-activating 400-odd airfields and strips lying disused in different parts of the country for decades.
" We will talk to state governments and encourage them to upgrade these small and non-functional airports and airfields. State governments should take interest in developing them to create a national grid for aviation," civil aviation minister Praful Patel told reporters.
He said the state governments could look at the public-private partnership route for this purpose or go in for private sector alone.
The Ministry is considering revisiting the policy of not allowing a second airport to be built within a 150 km radius of an existing one and reducing it by half. The secondary airports could be used to meet the needs of the low-cost airlines.
21/04/06 Economic Times

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