The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Centre confirms closure of Begumpet airport

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Wednesday, Mar 12, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Centre confirms closure of Begumpet airport

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Clearing the air of uncertainty, the Civil Aviation Ministry issued a notification on Tuesday confirming the closure of commercial operations from Begumpet airport and commencement of flights from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on March 16.

The notification, which is in pursuance of the concession agreement signed between the Government of India and the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHAIL) in December 2004, was issued hours ahead of the strike by airport employees demanding retention of the existing airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore for commercial operations.

A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt will touch down at Shamshabad on Sunday marking full-fledged launch of commercial operations from the Greenfield airport. GHAIL said it has also received the aerodrome licence, clearance for operation of fire fighting systems, environmental clearance from the A. P. Pollution Control Board and permission to serve as a notified customs zone.

Meanwhile, R. K. Singla, Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Hyderabad, said operations at Begumpet, which handles 210-230 landings/takeoffs daily, were unlikely to be affected by the employee’s agitation. Manpower was being requisitioned from outside to handle the fire services, the only wing that was expected to be hit. At Shamshabad, about 30 kms from Hyderabad, GHAIL is all set to receive UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the inauguration on March 14 and for operation of flights two days later. This has largely been facilitated by the AAI airlifting the CNS-ATM (Communication, Navigation and Surveillance – Air Traffic Management) equipment from the USA well in advance, unlike in Bangalore where it was delayed. The equipment, costing around Rs. 80 crore, was installed on January 20, providing the mandatory 45 days time for testing it and training ATC personnel. In between, two ‘proving flights’ of Kingfisher and Jet touched down successfully on February 12 lending confidence to the traffic controllers and the DGCA.

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Andhra Pradesh