Call for exclusive civil airport in Srinagar gains momentum

Srinagar: The ‘controlled’ Srinagar International Airport has become a pain in the neck for the stakeholders who decry the silence of central and state governments on having a full-fledged civil aerodrome in Kashmir to give fillip to the tourism sector.
For the past five months, there has been no action on the demand which the stakeholders had put in black and white before the Prime Minister’s Expert Group on job avenues in Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Dr C Rangarajan, and also the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. And this is not only annoying the people associated with the travel and tourism sectors in Kashmir but also the commercial airlines, especially in the wake of timing bar on flights operation at the Srinagar Airport.
Pertinently, the Srinagar Airport is under the operational control of the Indian Air Force while all other airports across the country are manned by the Airports Authority of India. Here the AAI is just taking care of the terminal building and boarding of passengers, while the flight operation, landing of aircraft and runway is under the direct control of the IAF.
The stakeholders believe it is high time to have full-fledged civil airport in Kashmir. “Kashmir deserves a civil airport keeping in view that it is a major tourist attraction for people not only in India but abroad as well,” said Shamim Ahmad Shah, Secretary, Travel Agents Association of India (JK Chapter).
18/05/11 Faheem Aslam/Greater Kashmir

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Categories: Airports May 2011, New May 2011