Haryana & Punjab Airport news

[bains1971]

Originally Posted by JSandhu296

Any recent pics of Amritsar and/or Chandigarh Airport would be much appreciated!

I cant find any recent pictures anywhere on the web my be we will have to wait for a while

[bains1971]

More Pictures of Amritsar Airport
http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd34/pendoo/

Images from Photobucket

[bains1971]

http://www.myaviation.net/search/sea..._type=advanced

ATC Tower of Rajasansi International Airport. Amritsar

Departure Lounge Rajasansi International Airport

[jd456]

thanks for the picture hope u keep it up as they keep working on the airport.

[JSandhu296]

awesome thanks!! looking great!

[Euromast]

^ Bainsa Saab Good work:-)

[bains1971]

The official name of Ludhiana Airport is Sahnewal Airport located near a small town of Punjab, Sahnewal. It is situated on the GT Road, 5 kilometers southeast of Ludhiana. The Ludhiana airport is located 75° 51’ 0” East Longitude 30° 54’ 0” North Latitude. The maintenance and the administration of Ludhiana airport is under the supervision of Airports Authority of India.

Ludhiana airport is spread over an area of 124.27 acres, at an elevation of 833.76 ft. The airport terminal has the capacity to handle arrival and departure of 20 flights. The dimension of the runway is 4800 ft by 100ft.


The expansion plan of Sahnewal Airport, to manage passenger flights was forwarded on 10th April 2007. The airport was previously efficient in handling 40- small seater planes. Earlier the Halwara Air Force Base was selected for expansion plan for passenger aircrafts. But was dropped due to security reasons.

http://www.mapsofindia.com/ludhiana/airport.html

[bains1971]

Express News Service
Posted: Oct 06, 2008 at 2249 hrs IST

Chandigarh, October 05 : The state will soon have another airport between Payal and Sahnewal. Initially planned to be a domestic airport, the airport will later be developed into an international one. Besides, a township, “aeropolis”, is planned to be developed near this airport.

Sources said the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Prime Minister’s Office has cleared this proposal and it is awaiting a nod from the Ministry of Defence, which is likely to be given soon. Also, this is for the first time that a new township will also come along with the proposed airport. To start with, the airport would be spread over 5,000 acres, but the total size would be around 12,000 acres spread in Ludhiana and Fatehgarh districts.

The proposed airport will be just at 70 km air distance from the Mohali international airport, whereas as per the norms of civil aviation, the minimum distance should be 250 km.

Sources said some time back a company, Bengal Aeropolis, had made a presentation to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, after which an MoU was signed between them and PSIDC. This company is making a similar township with airport at Durgapur in West Bengal.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/An...-Punjab/369708

[bains1971]

Airport flight
Goodbye Halwara, hello Sahnewal
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 10
The proposal to set up an international airport at Halwara has been finally dumped and a new project plan has been prepared for setting up such an airport at Sahnewal, near Ludhiana.

Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh held a meeting in this connection here today with top officials of the airport authority of India. Executive director of the authority A. Murugesan was also present at the meeting, it is learnt. The expansion of Chandigarh airport was also discussed in detail at the meeting.

Already, an airport for the landing of small aircraft, say 40 seaters, is available at Sahnewal. However, the existing strip with a bend can be expanded for the landing of jumbo aircraft. Ramesh Inder Singh said that officials of the airport authority had agreed to work on the Sahnewal airport project. “Adequate land was available at Sahnewal for the expansion of the existing airport”, said Ramesh Inder Singh.

The previous Amarinder Singh government tried hard to set up an international airport at Halwara. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did his best to get the project okayed from the union cabinet. However, the project did not materialise, perhaps because of national security concerns. As there was no use chasing the Halwara project again, the state government has proposed Sahnewal as the new site for the airport. “We certainly need connectivity by air in central Punjab. The setting up of the airport near Ludhiana will help give a boost to the state’s economy,” said Ramesh Inder Singh.

As far as the expansion of Chandigarh airport is concerned, it is only possible in the Punjab area adjacent to the airport here. There is need to acquire 300 acres for the expansion. As the price of 1 acre near the airport ranges between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore, the Punjab government has told the airport authority officials that it is not in a position bear the financial burden involved in the acquisition of land.

“We have told the authority to involve Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in the expansion process. A special purpose vehicle should be set up for this purpose”, said Ramesh Inder Singh. Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal will benefit from the airport.In fact, Himachal Pradesh’s booming industrial town of Baddi is hardly a 30-minute run from Chandigarh airport.

“As these states are bound to be benefited by the expansion of Chandigarh airport, they should also be asked to bear the financial burden of the expansion”, he added.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070411/main1.htm

[bains1971]

Sahnewal Airport or Ludhiana Airport (IATA: LUH, ICAO: VILD) is the local airport serving the city of Ludhiana in Punjab. Near the smaller town of Sahnewal, the airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Ludhiana on the Grand Trunk Road.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahnewal_Airport

[bains1971]

THE HARYANA Government does not want to be seen lagging behind Noida in any respect. It has decided to stake fresh claim with the Centre for an international airport and cargo area in Jhajjar near Gurgaon that, it says, would complement the special economic zone of Reliance Industries.

Under the Airport Infrastructure Policy of 1997, an additional airport within an aerial radius of 150km of an existing airport is not permitted. But since this rule has been waived for Greater Noida, one of the NCR areas of Haryana too should be considered, principal secretary to the Haryana Government ML Tayal told the Hindustan Times.

The Haryana Government that struck an agreement with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) last year for setting up a SEZ or special economic zone in Gurgaon-Jhajjar had moved the Centre, seeking a Greenfield Airport-cum-Cargo Air Complex in Jhajjar. The proposed SEZ has provision for a cargo airport and a 2,000MW power plant in Jhajjar.

Tayal said since the Centre had approved an international airport in Greater Noida, it should do the same for Haryana as well. "We had moved the Centre even before Uttar Pradesh for an international airport in Jhajjar.

We hope the Centre would give the green signal to Haryana also. We are going to pursue the case more vigorously," Tayal added.

The joint venture company of Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and RIL has already purchased about 8,000 acres in Jhajjar. About 4,000 acres of land has been earmarked for a cargo airport for which RIL has plans to buy 40 aircraft and invest about Rs 10,000 crore.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda, the MP from Rohtak, sought his intervention on the matter. Hooda said in the Haryana government's proposal, permission had been sought for construction of a brand new airport catering to low-cost passenger services, air cargo, private operators, helicopter services and aircraft maintenance services at a site covering an area of 4,347 acres in Jhajjar.

Haryana Power Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said on Saturday it had been pointed out to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation that aviation would grow in Delhi and NCR in the next five years at 17.9 per cent in terms of aircraft movement, at 22 per cent in passenger traffic and at 7.9 per cent in cargo. "The present airport catering to 10 crore passengers would saturate by 2016.

Los Angeles has six airports catering to 1.3 crore people, Moscow has three for 1.3 crore people, London has five airports and UAE eight. It amply justifies the claim of Haryana to have another international airport in the NCR region, which has a population of 3.7 crore," the minister said.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/hindustanti...o-6b6720b.html

[bains1971]

Dinker Vashisht
Posted: May 17, 2008 at 0425 hrs IST

Chandigarh, May 16 The land acquisition process for Bathinda airport will commence soon. Talking to The Indian Express, Vishwajit Khanna, Secretary, Civil Aviation, said, "We are notifying the land. It should take about a month, after which acquisition will begin." The government intends to acquire 40 acres of land near Bhisiana Airforce station, which is around 15 km from Bathinda. The airport is expected to be operational in three years.
This makes Bathinda yet another destination in Punjab where the civil airport will come up in close proximity to an Indian Air Force station.

Presence of IAF facilities in Bathinda, Chandigarh and Halwara had for long deterred Punjab's civil aviation plans, as clearances from the Ministry of Defence were not very forthcoming. But according to Khanna, the "attitude has changed and they are sensitive and concerned to our demands". The change is not only seen at the Ministry of Defence, but also at the Ministry of Civil Aviation. "We are told that whenever any new air route with a foreign country is being discussed, Amritsar's name is discussed because of the sheer quantum of traffic," he said.

The new airports in Bathinda and Mohali (where deadline is September 2010) are expected to ease the massive air traffic in Delhi. Even by the most conservative estimates, around 20 per cent of the total passengers going to Delhi airport hail from the region.

In fact, this huge rush had goaded the government to do away with the 150-kilometre restriction, which barred any new international airport coming up within the radius of 150 kilometres of an existing one.

Technically, this policy provision is still there, but green field projects have now been kept out of its purview. This raised hopes of states like Punjab and Haryana that came up with their ambitious aviation plans.

Apart from Mohali and Bathinda, the Punjab government is also upgrading the airstrip at Sahnewal in Ludhiana. Plans have also been made for the aviation academy in Patiala. The government claims it to be the "only institute of its kind in the world."

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...t-soon/310974/

[bains1971]

NRI Sabha demands opening of Adampur Airport for civilian flights

Jalandhar, May 2 (UNI) For the convenience of NRIs of Doaba region, Punjab NRI Sabha has demanded opening up of Adampur Airport for civilian flights.

Taking a cue from Bathinda Airport, NRI Sabha president Kamaljit Singh Hayer said "When Bathinda Airport could be opened for civilian flights, then why not Adampur Airport. Opening of Adampur Airport for civilian flights would benefit the NRIs, as maximum of them are from Doaba region." He said the matter had been taken up with the Central and State government for further discussion.

http://news.oneindia.in/2008/05/02/n...209738814.html

[JSandhu296]

any aviation related news out of punjab and haryana???

[bains1971]

Airlines to cut down flights from Amritsar airport followed by protest from leaders
Posted in: Asia
By SSNews | Nov 4, 2008 - 6:24:37 PM

Amritsar: A large number of international flights operating from the Rajasansi International Airport here were considering curtailing their international operations due to a decreasing number of passengers and cargo.

Singapore Airlines, which had started its tri-weekly flights from the holy city connecting major destinations across the world three years ago, was planning to drop its operations next year. The airport, which was ahead of others airports in the country showing more than 20 per cent growth, recorded a marginal negative growth of 0.9 per cent during August.

Sources in the Airports Authority of India revealed that Jet Airways, which was operating six flights a week from Amritsar to London, might curtail the flight operations during this winter season.

The Confederation of Indian Industry, Amritsar unit, felt that though the city airport had been granted international status, the airports authority continued to impose exorbitant landing charges on Singapore Airlines, double the normal domestic rates.

The issues which have made the airlines like Singapore Airlines and Jet Airways to take this drastic decision include the high cost of landing which was double than that of major metro airports, lack of cargo traffic and a host of other causes.

Dr Shavinder Singh Sandhu, local chairman of the CII, said the airport levied Rs 1.94 lakh per landing as against Rs 75,000. He said the government must immediately bring about parity on the charges at all airports. He urged the government to encourage cargo operations from here and make customs process simple as majority of exporters had rued that they were not getting their duty drawbacks within the time frame.

The hospitality industry with some leading hotel chains including Radisson, Marriott, Holiday Inn and Taj Group coming up in the city will get major setback, besides the local hotel industry will become unviable.

[bains1971]

Tribune Exclusive
Chandigarh airport can take off now
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 7

Things have finally fallen in place for the start of construction of the Chandigarh International Airport with the Punjab government today receiving Rs 230.43 crore from Haryana as part of the latter’s share towards land acquisition for the project.

In another related development, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has given sanction for the construction of the boundary wall of the airport, which will cover an area of 306 acres. According to the letter received from the AAI, the construction will start straight away after floating of tenders for the project. The AAI is likely to spend Rs 550 crore on the construction of various facilities, including the main terminal, at the airport.

The process of the formation of a Joint Venture Company (JVC), which was earlier coming in the way of receipt of payment from Haryana by Punjab, is also likely to be expedited with PricewaterhouseCoopers set to present a final draft of the proposed JVC to the tripartite committee consisting of members from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh next week. The consultants had given their first presentation on the likely shape of the JVC to the committee around 10 days back.

Punjab civil aviation secretary Visvajit Khanna confirmed that a cheque for Rs 230.43 crore had been received from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) on behalf of Haryana.

This represents Haryana’s 50 per cent share in the Rs 460 crore odd spent by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GAMADA) to acquire land for the project at Mohali on behalf of Punjab.

Earlier the airport project had hit a roadblock for a few months due to an ambiguity as how Punjab should be compensated for acquiring land for the project by Haryana. Even though the Punjab government presented a bill to Haryana to make an immediate payment, the latter expressed its inability to pay any money to Punjab till a JVC was signed between the three partners - Punjab, Haryana and the AAI. The issue, however, was resolved following meetings of all three partners that led to the formation of a tripartite committee. Haryana agreed to pay up its share in anticipation of the formation of the JVC.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081108/main8.htm

[bains1971]

Badal to take up Rajasansi issue with Manmohan Singh

Raakhi Jagga
Posted: Nov 08, 2008 at 0117 hrs IST

Ludhiana, November 07 Business at Rajasansi Airport, Amritsar, has suffered a lot following the decision of many airline companies to reduce their flights. This is a setback for Punjab and the matter will be taken up with the Prime Minister, said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, on his visit to the city today.
About eight international flights have been reduced per week from Rajasansi Airport. The airlines, however, point out that they are not able to get enough business class customers from this airport and preferred to reduce the air traffic rather than suffer losses.

Badal was in town to attend a sangat darshan in Cabinet Minister Hira Singh Gabria’s constituency. Contradicting the airlines’ stand, he said, “The Central government will be apprised of the details of the business from Amritsar airport so that they can convey the message to the airline companies as well.”

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...-singh/382895/

[Brar]

the airlines wouldn't cancel there flights if the airport didn't charge huge amounts of landing charges. There are doubled than Delhi. I wonder why they do that.

[bains1971]

A lot of the Punjabi newspapers in Punjab & UK are saying that the landing charges are higher at Amritsar airport so that Punjabi NRI's from the UK & other countries will be forced to use Delhi airport which has never been popular as it takes 8 hours to get to Punjab from Delhi by road and three by train, but I think that their are other economic factors that are responsible, they are building two more international airports near chandigarh which contradicts the claims by some of the newspapers.

[bains1971]

Navjot Singh Sidhu urges Centre, Punjab to save Amritsar airport

New Delhi, November 11: Former cricketer and BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday asked the Centre and the Punjab government to take urgent steps to save Raja Sansi Airport at Amritsar from closure in the wake of some major airlines withdrawing flights from the airport.
Sidhu, who met Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in New Delhi, said factors like ‘high’ landing charges, delay in completion of work and lack of facilities for cargo activities, among other things, were deterring airlines from operating from the holy city.

He pointed out that the decision by some carriers to discontinue global flights from Amritsar "has come as a bolt, which in turn will demoralise the investors, thereby affecting the livelihood of thousands" and wanted the government to take corrective measures.

The economic downturn has forced some Indian and foreign carriers to curtail some of their international services from Amritsar during the past few weeks.

Claiming that landing charges in Amritsar were "much higher" than those at Delhi airport, Sidhu demanded that the charges be slashed by 50 per cent.

On aeronautical charges, the Ministry maintained that since 2003, the newly declared international airports like Amritsar were charging the same rates as those of other domestic airports. This decision of the government was in operation since April 2003, official sources said.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...irport/384323/