Fate of Begumpet airport hangs in air

Even as the countdown has begun for the inauguration of the new airport at Shamshabad, the civil aviation ministry is coming under severe pressure from various quarters to keep the existing airport at Begumpet open. In fact, a high-level meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Monday is to decide the fate of the existing Begumpet airport.
Apart from the pressure from trade unions, the ministry, according to highly placed sources, is being pushed to the wall by the low-cost airlines, including the industry majors.
The low-cost airlines are seeking the ministry's attention to the fact that the services on several domestic routes would suddenly turn unviable after shifting to the new airport. The big airlines fear logistic problems particularly related to the transportation of their crew.
Key to the closure is a formal Notam that has to be issued to the existing airport bosses announcing the closure of the facility.
This is a notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition or change in any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard. "We have not received any notice so far on the issue," a senior official of the Begumpet airport confirmed to TOI on Sunday.
The government is also wary of public interest litigations (PILs) that have been filed in High Courts in Hyderabad and Bangalore seeking an order to keep the existing airports open.
10/03/08 Rajeev Deshpande/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008