The Defence Ministry has agreed to open the runway on Agra’s Kheria airport for certain dates to allow large chartered planes to land so that the scheduled tours are not cancelled. This comes in the wake of the Ministry’s rejection of the (UP) government’s request to reschedule maintenance work at the airport, which will last six months and threatens to write off the tourist season.
The Indian Air Force, which controls the airport, had earlier decided to take up maintenance and upgrading work on the airport from October 1, 2011 to March 31 2012. For this, a major part of the airport would have to be closed which would not leave enough space for large chartered planes to land, according to an Indian Express report.
The UP Tourism Department had informed the Defence Ministry that a number of chartered planes were already scheduled to land in Agra from different parts of the world during this period. In response to the tourism department’s information, the Defence Ministry recently called a meeting to discuss the issue. Officials from the Air Force, Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and the UP government attended the meeting chaired by RK Mathur, Special Secretary, Department of Defence.
Sources said it was decided that the air force would ensure the availability of the runway on 15 dates when international chartered flights were scheduled to arrive from China, Cambodia, Eqypt and some other countries. The UP government, was however told that all other flights being planned in the next six months would have to be rescheduled to these dates only.
“The air force officials informed us that because of the logistics, the schedule of maintenance and upgradation work could not be changed. However, they agreed to make the runway available for chartered planes on some select dates. There will be some inconvenience during the peak season, but the scheduled flights will not be cancelled now,” said a senior officer of the UP government. He added, “We have been asked to accommodate other flights on these dates only. This way, at least the credibility of the stakeholders would be maintained.”
The Indian Air Force, which controls the airport, had earlier decided to take up maintenance and upgrading work on the airport from October 1, 2011 to March 31 2012. For this, a major part of the airport would have to be closed which would not leave enough space for large chartered planes to land, according to an Indian Express report.
The UP Tourism Department had informed the Defence Ministry that a number of chartered planes were already scheduled to land in Agra from different parts of the world during this period. In response to the tourism department’s information, the Defence Ministry recently called a meeting to discuss the issue. Officials from the Air Force, Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and the UP government attended the meeting chaired by RK Mathur, Special Secretary, Department of Defence.
Sources said it was decided that the air force would ensure the availability of the runway on 15 dates when international chartered flights were scheduled to arrive from China, Cambodia, Eqypt and some other countries. The UP government, was however told that all other flights being planned in the next six months would have to be rescheduled to these dates only.
“The air force officials informed us that because of the logistics, the schedule of maintenance and upgradation work could not be changed. However, they agreed to make the runway available for chartered planes on some select dates. There will be some inconvenience during the peak season, but the scheduled flights will not be cancelled now,” said a senior officer of the UP government. He added, “We have been asked to accommodate other flights on these dates only. This way, at least the credibility of the stakeholders would be maintained.”
Source : TravelBizmonitor.com
