The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Ambiguity due to delay in notifying airport closure

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Tuesday, Mar 11, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Ambiguity due to delay in notifying airport closure

M. Rajeev

An SMS sent out by an airline company.

HYDERABAD: Passengers flying into the city from different destinations are sure to land in a piquant situation, thanks to the delay in the formal notification of closure of commercial operations from the existing airport at Begumpet.

With less than a week to go for the commencement of commercial operations of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, no announcement has been made so far over shifting of operations from the existing airport. Some airlines though, have started sending SMS messages to their customers about the operation of their flights from Shamshabad.

Officials of the State government as well as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) concur that closure of the existing airport is inevitable. “But, we are yet to receive a formal notification on shifting of the operations till date,” AAI Hyderabad director R.K. Singla said.

Senior officials of the A.P. Aviation Corporation too were “surprised” that the notification of closure was not issued so far although the concessionaire agreement lays down that commercial operations from Shamshabad cannot be notified in the absence of notification on closure of commercial operations from Begumpet.

CPI (M) MP Sitaram Yechury, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, when contacted, reiterated the party’s stand for continuing operations from the Begumpet airport and said pressure would be mounted on the Centre in this direction.

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