Srinagar: The frequent disruption of flights at the Srinagar “International” Airport has once again given rise to the clamour of having a civil airport in the summer capital, with stakeholders asking the Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed to free the aerodrome from the direct control of the Indian Air Force.
President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mushtaq Ahmad, said the Chief Minister “should prioritize taking back the control of Srinagar Airport from IAF” and allow the Airports Authority of India (AAI) “to operate it like other airports.”
“We don’t have an airport in Srinagar. It’s an army air base used as an airport where tourists only feel insecure in presence of forces. The Chief Minister needs to act and ensure that it is made a civil airport run by the AAI,” he told Greater Kashmir.
He said the “occupation” of the place by the IAF “sends a wrong signal among tourists and investors visiting the place” and “thus acts as a big impediment to the Valley’s economic growth and prosperity.”
The Srinagar Airport is again in news for wrong reasons for the past three days when flights have failed to operate owing to absence of an advanced landing gear that could facilitate operation of flights in low-visibility conditions.
27/11/15 Mukeet Akmali/Greater Kashmir
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President of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mushtaq Ahmad, said the Chief Minister “should prioritize taking back the control of Srinagar Airport from IAF” and allow the Airports Authority of India (AAI) “to operate it like other airports.”
“We don’t have an airport in Srinagar. It’s an army air base used as an airport where tourists only feel insecure in presence of forces. The Chief Minister needs to act and ensure that it is made a civil airport run by the AAI,” he told Greater Kashmir.
He said the “occupation” of the place by the IAF “sends a wrong signal among tourists and investors visiting the place” and “thus acts as a big impediment to the Valley’s economic growth and prosperity.”
The Srinagar Airport is again in news for wrong reasons for the past three days when flights have failed to operate owing to absence of an advanced landing gear that could facilitate operation of flights in low-visibility conditions.
27/11/15 Mukeet Akmali/Greater Kashmir
