The Hindu : New Delhi News : A new airport for Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 26, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi - New Delhi

A new airport for Delhi

Staff Reporter

A conscious decision taken in this regard: Patel

NEW DELHI: Advocating the need to have another domestic airport within 75 km around Delhi and an international airport less than 150 km away, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Friday that "a conscious decision has been taken in this regard'' and "we should not deprive Delhi of a second airport''.

Speaking on board an Air Deccan aircraft during its inaugural run between Gwalior and Delhi, Mr Patel said with the coming in of a number of private players and more aircraft, the need for a new airport had been accentuated. As such, he said, the Ministry had come to the conclusion that Delhi needs to have another airport around it soon.

Noting that secondary airports will be promoted all over the country, and in Mumbai a new airport is likely to come up within 20 km of the existing one, the Minister said the traffic in Delhi and Mumbai had really increased due to the coming in of private players and urgent measures were imperative since the waiting period for landing and taking off of aircraft was around 30 minutes and this means unnecessary fuel loss and financial losses.

Stating that backward areas will be added to the aviation map, the Minister said the airlines will also travel to them if they shall find them lucrative. "At the moment everyone is asking for new routes. And this is good because people are benefiting and the aviation sector and the country are developing. But most importantly, it is also generating a lot of employment.''

As for private airlines applying for foreign routes, he said, the Ministry was happy that they were looking for growth and thinking big, but would operate keeping in mind the Government decision to allow Indian Airlines and Air India first on the sectors of their choice. Allaying fears about security issues, he said the international and ICAO norms will be followed and security will not be compromised. And while noting that there was no immediate proposal to reduce the number of flying hours for commanders, he said, "we will not cut any corners on safety issues either and ICAO and DGCA guidelines will be adhered to.''

Also, in view of the paucity of pilots, he said foreign pilots have been allowed for some time and the age limit relaxation for Indian pilots was being examined.

However, as per the Cabinet decision, he said, there will be no foreign airline participation in the domestic sector and there was no immediate plan to change it.

The Minister acknowledged that with the coming in of new players, "airport infrastructure has become the biggest challenge and the issue is being addressed on a war-footing.'' While a master plan is being formulated for meeting long-tem targets, on a short time-frame, he said other steps like having rapid exit taxi tracks and new air traffic management plans have been devised to keep pace with the growth in the sector.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section

A new airport for Delhi

Delhi Government in a fix over power hike

Confusion over entrance test

"High stress level among corporate Delhiites''

3 held on robbery charge

Abducted girl rescued from U.P.

Bid to improve communication between doctor and patient

House raided, cash looted

Workshop on crime against women

Around The City

In the Capital Today