Sonia opens Hyderabad airport, but no operations yet

New Delhi: The opening of the new Hyderabad airport at Shamshabad was delayed minutes after Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the project amid great fanfare on Friday. The Shamshabad airport was to begin regular operations from Saturday midnight - as advertised in full page ads in newspapers across the country on Friday.
But as soon as the inauguration ceremony got over, the aviation ministry announced that the new airport’s opening will be "delayed by a few days because of operational reasons".
This announcement caught the GMR Group that has developed the place, completely off guard. Aviation minister Praful Patel told TOI: "Some airlines requested for time to shift to the new airport and that beginning operations from Saturday midnight may not be a completely smooth affair for them. I did not want complaints from passengers that some airline machinery is not working because of the shifting trouble. The airport is fully ready, but it will now begin operations within a maximum of 10 days."
However, the sudden delay led to a barrage of rumours as reason for delays. These ranged from the airport not being fully ready to Left pressure to keep Begumpet open for more time. Patel dismissed all these rumours.
15/03/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, New Mar 2008