New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has sought a nine-month closure of the Chandigarh air base, while the Ministry of Defence has opposed the long break in operations as it would cause inconvenience to passengers taking commercial flights that use the same landing strip.
Militarily, it would not affect much as the IAF can temporarily relocate its Chandigarh-based fleet of IL-76 and AN-32 transport planes to nearby bases like Ambala or Sarsawa (Saharanpur).
However, 25 civilian domestic flights daily would be affected and the expected commencement of international flights from the city beautiful, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, would have to be suspended.
Top sources have confirmed, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has made it clear to the IAF that “nine months is too long a period to close the airport of a city which is the capital of two states”. He wants the IAF to work out a solution that prevents such a long closure and study the model adopted for re-carpeting of the landing strip in Goa, which is the Indian Navy’s biggest air base and home for Navy’s sea-going fleet of MiG29-K fighter jets.
27/06/15 Ajay Banerjee/Tribune India
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Militarily, it would not affect much as the IAF can temporarily relocate its Chandigarh-based fleet of IL-76 and AN-32 transport planes to nearby bases like Ambala or Sarsawa (Saharanpur).
However, 25 civilian domestic flights daily would be affected and the expected commencement of international flights from the city beautiful, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, would have to be suspended.
Top sources have confirmed, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has made it clear to the IAF that “nine months is too long a period to close the airport of a city which is the capital of two states”. He wants the IAF to work out a solution that prevents such a long closure and study the model adopted for re-carpeting of the landing strip in Goa, which is the Indian Navy’s biggest air base and home for Navy’s sea-going fleet of MiG29-K fighter jets.
27/06/15 Ajay Banerjee/Tribune India
