Ludhiana-Delhi flight fails to take off

Ludhiana: The much-awaited Ludhiana-New Delhi test flight has been put on hold for the time being. The operations, which were to start on Tuesday, were cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Airport officials claim the operations, hanging fire for the last eight years, will start around April 17. But sources in the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) claim the test flight will take off only after April 25, when Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal returns from his week-long trip to the US. The Junior Badal is expected to launch the operations in the city.
Sources said Air India will be replaced by a private airline company to set up the operations.
VP Jain, incharge, Sahnewal Airport, though, is still optimistic. “The operations will start very soon. We received the cancellation information in the morning and now the same has been scheduled for April 17. It is just a delay in the test flight but the residents should not feel discouraged as we are ready to initiate regular flights as per the previously announced schedule of May 1. There would be no further delay.” Sources, meanwhile, said the hitches in the take off of the project included the choice of airline and the timings.
14/04/10 Amrita Chaudhry/Indian Express

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Categories: Airports Apr 2010, New Apr 2010