Skies open up to bid Begumpet adieu

Hyderabad: The dear old Begumpet airport will sorely be missed. This was what onlookers gathered on the Fatehnagar flyover felt as they silently watched the last few planes take off and land on dark and windy Saturday evening.
Disappointment was writ large on passengers' faces too at the airport, who knew the next air trip would include a long journey by road. No longer would they simply hop to the airport but would have to make elaborate plans to reach destination Shamshabad.
"This airport was incredibly convenient. It will take at least two hours to commute to Shamshabad when the actual air travel time is one hour," frequent flyer A Manohar, said.
As per schedule, the last flight to land at the Begumpet airport on Saturday was an Air India flight from Pune at 11.20 pm. The last flight to take off was again an Air India flight to Singapore at 00.25 hours (early Sunday).
With the shifting of operations to Shamshabad, airport officials themselves admit that the percentage of people opting for air travel was likely to fall by 20 per cent.
23/03/08 Bushra Baseerat/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008