Udaipur gets new airport terminal

New Delhi: On Sunday, 'city of lakes' Udaipur got a brand new airport terminal without any neta cutting the ribbon or flagging in the first flight.
The unveiling of the terminal, among the first of the 35 non-metros airports being modernised by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to be completed, without the mandatory VIP may have helped reduce waiting time for users to start flying in and out of the brand new Rs 80 crore terminal.
This will include the high and mighty who converge in Udaipur to attend aviation minister Praful Patel's daughter's wedding there over the weekend. Operations shifted from the old to the new terminal on Sunday - which incidentally also happened to be Patel's 51st birthday. When contacted, AAI chairman K Ramalingam said: "We have started trial operations to check systems of the new terminal since Sunday and the place has been put in use."
The modernisation of Udaipur airport has been long overdue, especially because of the growing tourist traffic to Rajasthan. The runway at Udaipur is going to be extended to 9,000 feet in coming months and then this major tourist destination could be able to handle very large aircraft. At present, foreign charters land in the city using medium-sized aircraft like the A320s.
19/02/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: airports Feb 2008